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New York Times testing a digital subscription for “NYT Kids”
There have been a number of key updates from the New York Times this week, it’s been challenging to keep track! Here’s a quick round-up:
- Digiday looks at how they’re aiming to convert The Morning readers into paid subscribers as the newsletter reach 1 billion opens
- Its consumer reviews site Wirecutter is testing a subscription product, which would expand the site’s primary revenue stream from just affiliate revenue
- The publisher is also investing more in digital games and puzzles, as a third of its 2.3 million new digital-only subscribers have come through its cooking, games and audio apps
The latest hot-off-the-press update is that the New York Times is in the early stages of developing a digital subscription product for families called NYT kids. The content will be aimed at kids aged 8-11, and will cover a range of topics and activities including crafts, recipes, experiments and activities. There have been a number of other launches recently from publishers like NowThis News and TIME as parents have looked for ways to educate and entertain their children during lockdown.
It’s not an easy market to crack, but it’s a big one, with 33 million households in the US with kids under the age of 18. Crucially, it forms habits and relationships from a young age. It’s an investment in the next generation of subscribers.
Facebook is said to be building a product to compete with Clubhouse
Clubhouse is the latest hot new social app on the block. So naturally, Facebook has ordered employees to create its own version. It’s the latest in a long list of features the tech giant has pinched from up-and-coming platforms, from Snapchat’s Stories to TikTok-like Reels. As a wise man once said, there is truly nothing new under the sun.
Google is going to start paying UK publishers for news
Google has launched its News Showcase product in the U.K., meaning the tech giant will now pay for news content in the country for the first time. As part of the licensing agreements, they’re also launching the ability for readers to access select paywall content. We’ll be watching the results with interest.
“Housty, I’m a new magazine publisher, how do I get better fast?”
Magazine publishing is not rocket science, but reinventing the wheel every time a new title launches is an incredible waste. Peter looks at the fundamentals of content, audience and revenue in response to the latest ‘Housty, we have a problem’ column.