The New York Times and the Great Subscription Debate

Now that The New York Times has officially put a time and price on its internet access policy, the issue for digital sales and marketing people becomes one of value. In fact, I’ve already had these discussions with our brand and agency partners. On one side of the value debate, paying customers are considered to be more valuable than non-paying customers. So for example, a user who pays a yearly subscription rate for The Times is probably more engaged and therefore more valuable than a user who does not. There’s a strong case for that. A Wall Street Journal subscriber is, after all, part of a valuable audience, and certainly one I would value at a much higher level than a site that aggregates content or a site that does not place a premium on original content.

I wish things were that simple. But they’re not. The Internet has thrived on free content, and while more sites will switch to paid, it doesn’t devalue all free sites. I’m all for paid content as a way for premium websites to generate income, and the Journal is a great example. But engagement is still the most important currency on the Internet. Engagement, which I define as the time spent on a site, the frequency with which a user returns to the website, and the interactions taken consistently via that website, is just as important whether or not a user pays for content.

Here’s what I mean... Taking a look at the FOX universe -- Fox News is free. Now, the audience metrics for Fox Business, which is a subsection of Fox News, are different than those for The Journal, The Finanical Times, The Economist, and what will be the paid content on The Times. Yes, those other sites are attracting subs, and their income levels are high -- but they are, undoubtedly, for Fox Business as well. I would encourage any brand or agency to ask as much about customer engagement as much as I encourage them to ask about subscription-based demographics. It is that audience profile and the engagement of that audience that drives the most value for advertisers. Simply scaling a pay wall does not guarantee engagement, although it is a good indicator.