Little Consistency in Digital Newspaper Pricing

When it comes to pricing of digital subscriptions, U.S. newspaper publishers have not found a common strategy yet. The price of a full digital subscription ranges from 15 percent of the print subscription price (San Jose Mercury News) to 85 percent of the home delivery price (The Wall Street Journal).

On average, the seven newspapers in our sample charge 50 percent of the print subscription price for full digital access to their resources. Digital offerings range from digital replica editions to mobile apps and access to locked website content. The largest digital package is offered by the New York Times, which charges a whopping $35 per month for a full digital subscription including full website access, smartphone and tablet apps. Paying full price doesn't make much sense for customers though, because a weekend print subscription is cheaper and includes full digital access.

It appears as if publishers are still in the process of figuring out the perfect pricing strategy for their digital offers. Some market their digital content as a premium product, others give it away for a fraction of the print edition's price. Interestingly, all newspapers in the sample offer full digital access to their print subscribers. While such bundling is surely appreciated by print subscribers, it can make it hard for publishers to sell digital content as a stand-alone product as it gives people the impression that digital content is free.