Mather Economics publishes quarterly benchmark reports for news media subscriptions and digital audiences. We’d like to share our perspective on the future of news subscriptions in light of recent trends in the benchmarks for subscription volumes, new customer acquisitions and average rates.
The subscriber benchmarking data comes from more than 300 newspapers in North America. We receive this data weekly through our ongoing work with these publications. To be included in this report, Mather must have 13 months of weekly subscriber data from a publication.
Data on digital audiences is collected using the Listener Data Platform, a first-party tracking tool that captures browser click-stream data from anonymous and known users, events from mobile applications, advertising impressions and paywalls. This data is standardized and consistent across participating publications, which makes this data set unparalleled in the media industry for breadth, frequency and consistency.
Mather Economics also shares anonymized data on digital subscribers and engagement with the Medill Journalism School at Northwestern University through its Subscriber Engagement Index.
New subscriber acquisition
Subscriber retention and engagement
Subscriber volume and revenue
Prediction #1: Impact of the news cycle on traffic patterns and subscriber growth
Prediction #2: Impact of global economic trends and costs
Prediction #3: Impact of new opportunities and revenue streams
For more information, connect with Matt Lindsay at matt@mathereconomics.com.
Please contact Mather Economics if you would like to participate in our benchmarking reports or have any questions. Mather is developing benchmarks for other regions with more details to be announced later this year.
We are pleased to announce the addition of Malcolm Netburn to Mather Economics’ Advisory Board.
Malcolm Netburn, the former CEO and chairman of CDS Global, a Hearst company, has over 40 years of experience with media, non-profit and consumer products organizations. Before joining CDS Global/Hearst, he was the founding partner of Netburn McGill, a New York-based consulting firm specializing in technology, organizational structure and strategy and implementation.
“On behalf of the entire Mather team, we welcome Malcolm Netburn to our Advisory Board and look forward to his perspective on how we can improve the customer experience in the magazine and non-profit verticals,” said Matt Lindsay, president of Mather Economics. “His exemplary experience and relationships in these verticals will be a major asset to our organization as we continue to grow in 2022 and beyond.”
More about Malcolm Netburn:
Malcolm Netburn is the founder of Netburn Advisors. Most recently, he was CEO & chairman of CDS Global and senior adviser to CDS and Hearst. CDS Global is a technology-driven outsourcing provider of customer interaction, payments, data, analytics and eCommerce serving over 160 million consumers in the U.S. and internationally. Malcolm has provided thought leadership to the magazine and media industries and has been a featured speaker at conferences and symposiums.
Malcolm has over 40 years of experience with magazine, newspaper, nonprofits, book and media companies. Before joining CDS Global, he was a founding partner of Netburn McGill, a New York-based consulting firm he helped establish in 1986.
A graduate of George Washington University, Malcolm previously served in executive roles at Chemical Week Associates, Hart Publications, the Christian Science Monitor, the National Wildlife Federation and Scholastic.
You can reach Malcolm at malcolmnetburn@mathereconomics.com. For more information, reach out to Media Relations Manager Shelley Coplin at shelley@mathereconomics.com.