Friday Five: Media Insights & Subscription Trends
Start your weekend off right with the latest issue of Friday Five! In this edition, we review publishers becoming cautiously optimistic about new revenue streams, consumers becoming more strategic with subscriptions, Netflix removing its basic ad-free subscription, Klarna starting a buy now, pay later subscription service, and Alphabet finding recurring-revenue growth.
Publishers Cautiously Optimistic About New Revenue Streams
A study by WAN-IFRA found that news publishers are cautiously optimistic about revenue growth in 2024. This is despite those ongoing challenges such as declining referral traffic and Google's third-party cookie phase-out. Publishers are hoping that investments in new revenue streams, such as platform partnerships and business services, will lead to a positive outcome. Read More on Press Gazette.
Reasons Consumers Have So Many Subscriptions
The rise of the subscription economy has led many consumers to spend millions on subscriptions they have now forgotten about. Accordingly, there is a growing trend of consumers starting to become more strategic about canceling unnecessary subscriptions, particularly in the streaming industry. Read More on The Wall Street Journal.
Netflix Removing Basic Ad-Free Subscription
Netflix is removing its lowest ad-free subscription plan - the basic tier costing $11.99 – rolling this out first in the UK and Canada. New subscribers will have the option to pay $6.99 per month “with ads” or $15.49 per month “without ads”. This move is part of Netflix's new strategy to increase revenue from these free customers. Read More on Independent.
Klarna Starts Buy Now Pay Later Subscription Service
Klarna the BNPL (buy now, pay later) company has started a subscription service, called Klarna Plus. The new service aims to offer customers benefits such as avoiding service fees, earning rewards, and receiving discounts from partner brands like Nike, Macy's, and Instacart. Read More on PYMNTS.
Alphabet Finds Recurring-Revenue Growth
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has reported an increase in revenue as a result of offering paid subscriptions through YouTube “generating $15 billion in 2023”. As a result, Alphabet's future revenue strategy may now revolve around YouTube's premium offerings, such as music, ad-free content, and live sports. Read More on Subscription Insider.