In our data, the proportion that pay for online news across 20 countries is 17% – a figure that has not changed for the last three years. We can’t say how many people paying trial prices will potentially move on to paying full prices. Again, raw subscriber numbers do not tell the full story, with such figures potentially masking high rates of underlying churn, where many trial subscribers are lost, only to be replaced with new trial subscribers. The industry has many different techniques to encourage people to pay, but they will only do so if it enriches their lives. A sizeable minority has been convinced to pay significant sums for current online news offers, but most people are not willing to pay for what is currently on offer.

Source: New York Times June 16, 2024 22:46 UTC