10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
(New York time)

About today's module

Retention is not a metric. It’s not a team. It’s the result of every decision your newsroom, your product, your marketing teams make about the customer journey.

In this first module, we’ll lay the foundation for a digital-first retention strategy – one built not on trying to hold subscribers in at all costs, but on offering them more reasons to stay, leave well,and come back.

As subscriber growth naturally slows in maturing and smaller markets, we’ll explore how retention becomes the main driver of long-term sustainability, and how that shift requires a new mindset, new infrastructure, and new ways of working.

We’ll hear how leading publishers are reframing cancellations as part of a longer relationship, turning offboarding moments into reboarding opportunities, bundling value in unexpected ways, and tackling churn with cross-functional task forces.

Key questions:

• How do we shift the organisational mindset from acquisition-first to relationship-first?
• What retention models work best in small or saturated markets with limited new prospects?
• How can offboarding journeys and downgrade paths boost win-backs and lifetime value?
• What does it take to design products and bundles that justify higher prices using assets we already have?
• How can cross-functional teams tackle retention problems like payment failures more effectively?
• What retention KPIs should be owned across departments, and how do they interconnect?
• How do we build a business case for flexible subscriptions and a modern retention stack?

10:00 a.m.-10:15 a.m. (New York time)
Welcome: A new retention playbook for news

INMA’s Greg Piechota opens the Master Class by resetting how we think about retention in the digital era. Just as acquisition evolved with search, social, and smart paywalls, retention now needs its own transformation — away from print-era tactics to a modern playbook.

Greg Piechota, Researcher-in-Residence, INMA, United Kingdom



10:10 a.m.-10:45 a.m. (New York time)
A new retention agenda at Mediahuis: From one-offs to forever subscribers

Riske Betten of Mediahuis challenges the traditional thinking around churn. In smaller markets like the Netherlands, there simply aren’t enough new prospects to keep cycling through subscribers every year. Instead, she calls for a mindset shift: treat cancellations not as endings, but as part of a longer customer journey. What if leaving was easy — and coming back was even easier?

Riske Betten, Director, B2C and Product, Mediahuis, Netherlands


10:45 a.m.-11:20 a.m. (New York time)
Downgrade, don’t cancel: How NewsPass keeps the door open for News Corp. Australia subscribers

What if subscribers didn’t have to choose between full-price access and walking away? Daniel Barratt from News Corp. Australia shares how NewsPass is helping the company reinvent the offboarding experience by offering readers a chance to downgrade, continue to sample content, and return to the full access with ease.

Daniel Barratt, Senior Manager, Subscriptions Growth, News Corp. Australia, Australia


11:20 a.m.-11:55 a.m. (New York time)
Creative bundling at Badische Zeitung: How a leisure content app became a retention and revenue driver

Markus Hofmann of Badische Zeitung shows how to justify one of Germany’s highest digital subscription prices for local news. With the launch of a new app recommending the region’s destinations, Badische Zeitung created fresh value for subscribers. The results? Higher engagement, reduced churn, and greater digital uptake among print readers.

Markus Hofmann, Head of Digital Content, Badische Zeitung, Germany


11:55 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (New York time)
Battling churn takes a team: How Público cut payment failures

Leonor Soczka of Portugal’s Público shows how solving retention challenges, and especially payment failures, demands more than one person and a quick fix. By creating a cross-functional task force that brought together product, IT, analytics, customer service, and external vendors, the team reduced churn on key payment methods by up to 42%.

Leonor Soczka, Subscriptions Director, Público, Portugal


12:30 p.m.-12:40 p.m. (New York time)
Summary and takeaways from today’s module

To close the module, Greg Piechota of INMA brings together the big ideas and practical tactics shared across the sessions, and connects the dots.

10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
(New York time)

About today's module

What happens after someone subscribes? And how do we keep them engaged for the long run?

In this module, we’ll dive into the product and experience design strategies that shape the post-acquisition lifecycle.

As digital behaviours redefine how readers connect with content, legacy onboarding and engagement tactics fall short.

Today’s leading publishers are rethinking how to nurture value from day one, support flexible upgrade paths, and design products that match modern subscriber habits.

We’ll explore how to build habit-forming journeys, create segmented onboarding flows, tailor bundles for high-potential niches, and use data to reduce churn.

Key questions:

• What are the defining moments of truth in the digital subscription lifecycle?
• How do you design onboarding and engagement flows that build long-term habits?
• What signals predict churn, and how can we intervene early?
• How can bundling and upgrade paths support both acquisition and retention?
• What infrastructure enables flexibility for subscribers without risking loyalty?
• How can data help us test and optimise each step of the journey?

Brought to you by

10:00 a.m.-10:10 a.m. (New York time)
Welcome: A new post-subscription experience

As new technologies reshape how users engage with content, legacy approaches to onboarding and value nurturing no longer fit. INMA’s Greg Piechota introduces this module’s ambition to showcase new experience and product designs.

Greg Piechota, Researcher-in-Residence, INMA, United Kingdom



10:10 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. (New York time)
Flexible by design: What paywalled brands can learn from The Guardian’s retention playbook

Emilie Harkin and Tiphaine Junjaud of The Guardian unpack what a flexible relationship with readers can teach even the most rigid paywall models. With no barrier to access, The Guardian has had to master the art and science of nurturing value: moving supporters from one-time givers to recurring members, and creatively inviting top-ups and upgrades.

Emilie Harkin, Senior Vice-President, Growth, The Guardian, United States
Tiphaine Junjaud, Senior Commercial Strategy Lead, The Guardian, United Kingdom


10:50 a.m. - 11:05 a.m. (New York time)
What we learned from 100+ retention experiments (in just a 10-minute presentation)

Why do rapid experimentation and dynamic audiences lead to better retention? In 10 minutes, we'll share what we've learned from running 100+ AI-driven retention experiments and lifecycle automations with leading publishers. You'll get a clear view of where to focus across the lifecycle and what kind of workflow supports a strong retention process.

Martin Johnsen , CEO of Subsets, Denmark


11:05 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. (New York time)
Winning the first 100 days: How The Washington Post reinvented subscriber onboarding

Adam Frank of The Washington Post dives into its new subscriber onboarding experience which he and his team rebuilt from the ground up. They aimed at turning the critical first 100 days into a structured, personalized, and habit-forming journey. Click-through rates doubled, opt-outs dropped, and early engagement surged, all driving stronger long-term retention.

Adam Frank, Engagement Manager, The Washington Post, United States


11:45 a.m. - 12:25 p.m. (New York time)
Winning subscribers back: Automating value nurturing and recovery at Tiroler Tageszeitung

Christoph Unterkofler of Tiroler Tageszeitung in Austria shares how a summer surge in low-intro trial subscriptions led to a major rethink of win-back strategy. Rather than treating cancellations as the end, his team built an automated, multi-stage recovery system with smart cancellation flows, segmented email journeys, and personalised onsite prompts.

Christoph Unterkofler, Lead, Product Development, Tiroler Tageszeitung, Austria



12:25 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. (New York time)
Summary and takeaways from today’s module

To close the module, Greg Piechota of INMA distills what publishers can take home to rethink their journeys, on-boarding, and product lines.

10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
(New York time)

About today's module

What makes a subscription “sticky”? In our final module, we explore how premium experiences – from community features to newsletters and win-back journeys – are helping publishers deepen relationships and extend subscriber lifetime value.

We’ll look at how content can be packaged and personalised to feel more exclusive and how publishers are creating value not just with what they offer, but how they deliver it.

From subscriber-only conversations and curated email experiences to reactivation strategies that feel like re-engagement, this module highlights the growing role of product design, audience segmentation, and automation in modern retention strategies.

Key questions:

• What makes a product or experience feel “premium” to subscribers?
• How does community participation add value and reduce churn?
• What signals indicate when and how to re-engage lapsed subscribers?
• How can newsletters evolve from a free funnel to a premium feature?
• How do segmentation and automation improve recovery and retention?
• What does benchmarking reveal about your retention performance?
• What frameworks can guide the development and scaling of high-impact retention features?

Brought to you by

10:00 a.m.-10:10 a.m. (New York time)
Welcome: Premium experiences

Greg Piechota of INMA opens the final module with a look at how premium experiences – from newsletters and niche products to bundles and communities – become strategic levers for retention.

Greg Piechota, Researcher-in-Residence, INMA, United Kingdom



10:10 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. (New York time)
From comments to content: Powering engagement with The Telegraph’s communities

Arielle Goldstein and William Whittington reveal how the U.K. Telegraph’s new “Your Say” section turns reader contributions into a dynamic part of journalism. By combining smart editorial curation, community moderation, and technology, they’ve created a virtuous cycle where subscriber-only conversations fuel richer content, boost engagement metrics, and retention.

Arielle Goldstein, Community Editor, The Telegraph, United Kingdom
William Whittington, Head of Community Moderation, The Telegraph, United Kingdom



10:50 a.m. - 11:05 a.m. (New York time)
The Retention-Led Growth Playbook

Chargebee offers a practical roadmap for tackling both voluntary and involuntary churn using a three-part strategy: Track, Act, and Prevent. Drawing on real-world client examples, the session explores how publishers use data to diagnose why readers leave, automate smarter cancellation journeys, and build proactive systems to recover payments and re-engage at-risk users.

Carl Nightingale, Product Director Growth & Retention, Chargebee, United States



11:05 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. (New York time)
Smart bundling, local impact: How DC Thomson turned sports fans into subscribers

Graham McDougall of DC Thomson presents how this regional Scottish publisher expanded its product line creatively. With limited brands to bundle, the team reimagined its offering – unbundling sports content into a focused Sport Pack and using it as both an affordable entry point, a lock-in for current customers, and a smart downgrade option.

Graham McDougall, Head of Digital Subscriptions, DC Thomson, United Kingdom



11:45 a.m. - 12:25 p.m. (New York time)
Old channel, new powers: How Advance Local uses subscriber-exclusive newsletters to drive value and retention

Craig Valenz of Advance Local makes the case for email as one of the most effective – and still underused – levers in a publisher’s retention strategy. By shifting focus from free to subscriber- exclusive newsletters, his team turned a familiar format into a high-impact premium product, improving retention of up to to 40%.

Craig Valenz, Senior Director, Email and Newsletter Marketing, Advance Local, United States



12:25 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. (New York time)
Summary and takeaways from today's module

To close the module, Greg Piechota of INMA distills what publishers can take home to rethink their journeys, on-boarding, and product lines.