Halfway Into 2019, News Subscriptions Continue to Grow

Halfway into 2019 news publishers continue to push their digital subscription numbers up with dynamic paywalls and targeted marketing to attract and retain subscribers, according to an updated report by FIPP.

Out of the top ten publishers for digital subscriptions, half posted subscriber growth within the first half of this year. The Times continues to widen their lead as the top news publisher for digital subscriptions. At the beginning of 2019, the New York Times started with 3.3 million online subscriptions, and now at the halfway point, the Times has brought in 3.5 million subscribers. The Wall Street Journal had a similar pace of growth, increasing digital subscribers by 300,000 during the first two quarters of 2019. marketing to attract and retain subscribers, according to an updated report by FIPP.

While the top two leaders in digital subscriptions remained the same, some of the middling outlets had a bigger growth rate. The Financial Times had the biggest jump in digital subscriptions, improving their digital base by over 25 percent, while also hitting the one million mark. The publication was one of the first major papers to rollout a paywall, creating it back in 2002.

Paywalls and subscription based revenue models continue to bring success for news outlets that implement them.