New York Times, Amedia are important examples of bundling economics

By Greg Piechota

INMA

Oxford, United Kingdom

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All-access bundle subscribers have up to 26 times larger average lifetime value for a news publisher than customers of single products. This is driven by dramatically lower churn rather than a much higher price.

My comparative analysis of two very different companies — The New York Times and Amedia, a local news publisher in Norway — reveals a compelling business case for bundling:

  • Superior engagement leading to substantial retention gains.

  • Huge lifetime value boost despite small ARPU differences.

  • Massive total revenue share even from a smaller slice of subscribers.

Higher subscription revenue unlocks further investment in journalism, marketing, and innovative products, making bundling a key pathway to news media sustainability.

This analysis is based on bits of data shared by The New York Times Company in its financial reports and by an Amedia executive’s presentation at an INMA master class. 

When missing data points, I used benchmarks from INMA as a proxy for normal performance. Calculations are mine and were not reviewed by the respective companies.

Business case for The New York Times

Since 2022, The New York Times has been pursuing aggressive bundling of its core news product with specialised content verticals like Games, Cooking, and The Athletic:

  • ARPU advantage: The average monthly revenue per user (ARPU) for bundle subscribers was US$12.35, which is 7% higher than US$11.48 for news-only subscribers and 244% higher than US$3.59 for other single-product subscribers.

  • Higher engagement, reduced churn: The Times reported roughly 10 to 20 percentage points increase in weekly engagement rates and 40% lower monthly churn rate for bundle subscribers. Using INMA Subscription Benchmarks as a proxy for normal churn, I estimated that bundling extended the survival of an average subscriber by 20 months, or 69%, to 49 months.

  • Lifetime value multiplier: A longer paid relationship boosts its value as an average bundle customer generates an estimated 79% more revenue for The Times than a news-only subscriber (US$605 vs. US$338) and 470% more revenue than a subscriber to other single products (US$106). 

  • Revenue dominance: At The Times’ scale, these metrics translate into a robust revenue stream. As of Q3 2024, bundle subscribers accounted for nearly half (49%) of its digital-only base of 10.5 million yet pulled in nearly two thirds (64%) of US$322 million in digital subscription revenue.

Business case for Amedia

Norwegian publisher Amedia, with 127 owned or partnering local news sites, offers an even more dramatic case for bundling.

As a subscriber to “+Alt” bundle launched in 2020, one gets access to all local services plus a sports streaming service for only 11% higher monthly rate than for a single local site (NOK 299 vs. NOK 269, or US$26.50 vs. US$23.80).

  • Stunningly high adoption: As of Q2 2024, 75% of Amedia’s 556,000 digital-only subscribers had upgraded to the bundle; 60% of the bundle subscribers read content from other titles weekly and 41% daily. 

  • Sharp retention lift: Reported monthly churn rates for the engaged bundle subscribers and casual single-brand subscribers differ enormously — 0.7% vs. 16.4% — extending the average survival rate to almost 12 years from merely six months (sic!).

  • Lifetime value leap: This is where the Amedia bundle truly shines. The huge lift in retention translates into a staggering 26 times higher subscriber lifetime value (estimated NOK 42,700 vs. NOK 1,640). 

Amedia’s success demonstrates that bundling isn’t just for global or national giants like The New York Times. Local and regional groups can also leverage this tactic to build a more loyal and valuable subscriber base.

Growth through bundling

While structure of the bundles and execution details vary between publishers and markets, the fundamental economics of bundling appears consistent. 

Multi-product bundles create more opportunities for readers to engage with journalism or other content, leading to higher usage and deeper loyalty.

My analysis underscores the power of even a modest price premium if accompanied by significantly lower churn. 

According to my research for INMA, bundling joins the quartet of discounted and long trials, intelligent paywalls, and targeted price increases at renewal as the most profitable and proven tactics in news subscription marketing.

Interested in the math behind this analysis? E-mail me at greg.piechota@inma.org

Greg’s Readers First newsletter is a public face of a revenue and media subscriptions initiative by INMA, outlined here. INMA members can subscribe here.

About Greg Piechota

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