The New York Times shared that they added 210,000 digital subscribers in the first quarter of 2024, resulting in a 13% increase in digital subscription revenues compared to the same period last year, bringing the total to $293 million. The growth was primarily driven by the addition of bundle and multiproduct subscribers. The company also announced that digital ad revenues rose by 2.9% to $63 million, supported by higher display advertising revenues at The Athletic.
Here are the important numbers:
Revenue: Total revenue increased to $594 million, up by 5.9% from the first quarter of 2023.
Earnings: Earnings per share stand at $0.24.
Subscribers: The New York Times gained 210,000 digital subscribers in the quarter, bringing the total to 9.9 million.
Meredith Kopit Levien, president and chief executive officer of The New York Times Company, stated, “2024 has had a strong beginning, with our results demonstrating the effectiveness of our strategy as the go-to subscription for anyone who is eager to comprehend and engage with the world. Our top-notch news and lifestyle products continue to attract significant and deeply engaged audiences. Our first-quarter financial performance shows that our news-based, multi-product, multi-revenue subscription strategy is working as intended and is on track to drive continuous revenue and earnings growth, as well as generate healthy free cash flow in 2024.”
At the end of the quarter, The New York Times reported approximately 10.5 million subscribers for both print and digital combined, indicating an 8% increase from 2023. The company aims to reach 15 million total subscribers by the end of 2027.
The Times’s advertising revenue faced declines, with overall ad revenue dropping 2.4% year-over-year to $103.7 million. The decreases were attributed to lower print advertising and reduced spending on media companies. However, digital advertising saw a 2.9% year-over-year increase to $63 million, attributed to higher ad revenue at The Athletic.
The Athletic, which was purchased by The Times in 2022 for $550 million, had 4.99 million subscribers at the end of the first quarter of 2024. However, The Athletic experienced a net loss of $8.7 million in the first quarter, compared to $11.3 million in 2023.
The Athletic’s revenue grew by 33% to $37.2 million, attributed to growing subscriptions and a licensing deal with Apple.
The New York Times initiated a lawsuit in December against Microsoft and OpenAI, alleging that the tech giants were involved in copyright infringement. The lawsuit argues that the generative A.I. tools created by Microsoft and OpenAI utilized millions of The Times’s copyrighted news articles, in-depth investigations, opinion pieces, reviews, and how-to guides. The Times’ lawsuit marked the first significant case from news publishers regarding generative AI capabilities and how chatbots were trained, as the technology starts to establish itself in the media industry.In the first quarter of 2024, The Times stated that it spent $1 million on the lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft. Both Microsoft and OpenAI have attempted to dismiss crucial elements of the lawsuit.
Income from digital subscriptions increased by 13% to $293 million
In the first quarter of 2024, the Times said it spent $1 million on the OpenAI and Microsoft lawsuit. Both Microsoft and OpenAI have sought to dismiss key elements of the lawsuit.
