• by Ray Schultz , February 8, 2024

The New York Times could serve as a role model for newspapers trying to move from print to digital. 

The Times added roughly 300,000 net digital-only subscribers in the third quarter of 2023, mostly bundle and multi-product subscribers. 

The average revenue for digital-only users grew by 3.5% YoY to $9.24. This was mostly due to subscribers graduating from promotional to higher prices, along with increases for tenured non-bundled subscribers.  

Altogether, the Times had 10.36 million subscribers across its print and digital products, including approximately 9.70 million digital-only subscribers. Of the latter, 4.22 million were bundle and multiproduct subscribers. 

All this led, in part, to 7.2% growth in digital subscription revenues to $288.7 million.  

However, digital advertising sales fell by 3.7% YoY, mostly because there were five fewer days in the quarter. Also, the Times saw decreases in podcast and creative services revenue.  

Digital advertising revenue totaled $107.7 million – 65.6% of total company revenue.  

In addition, total subscription revenues rose by 3.9% to $430.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.

However, aggregate revenue was flat, growing by 1.3% YoY to $676.2 million. But the Times enjoyed operating profit of $129 million, up 38.7% YoY. And adjusted operating profit rose by 8.5% to $154 million. 

The Athletic, The Times sports product, achieved 31.3% growth to $38.5 million. Ad revenues for the product jumped to $9.9 million, up from $5.3 million in the Q4 of 2022.  

The Athletic’s operating loss fell by 54.2% to $4.4 million, costs being partially offset by higher ad, digital subscriptions and other revenues. 

“2023 was a strong year for The Times that showcased the power of our strategy to be the essential subscription for every curious person seeking to understand and engage with the world,” says Meredith Kopit Levien, president and chief executive officer. 

Kopit Levien adds, “Our market leading news and lifestyle products commanded large and deeply engaged audiences, and our multi-revenue stream model contributed to improving profitability. We realized strong annual growth in earnings per share, adjusted operating profit, and free cash flow, which each hit their highest point since our digital transformation began more than a decade ago.”