Cost of living crisis impacting audiences’ willingness to pay for news
Price-savvy consumers are seeking value in the news they are prepared to pay for as the cost of living crisis bites, according to research from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism finds.
The report from the organisation - ‘Paying for news: Price-conscious consumers look for value amid cost-of-living crisis - shows that - across the majority of the 20 countries analysed – there have been high levels of cancellations of online news subscriptions strongly associated with the cost of living crisis.
The research is based on the results of the 2023 RISJ Digital News report surveys carried out in early 2023 from 20 countries including the UK, Norway, US and Japan and qualitative research from the UK, US and Germany to explore:
- who is paying for news content online,
- which publications they pay for,
- how much they pay, and
- what motivations they have for subscribing or donating to news
And the research also found that, while cut-price introductory offers helped entice new subscribers, many failed to continue to see the value at the point of renewal at the full price.
Other key findings include:
- Long-term news subscribers tend to be male, older, richer, and better educated, with a strong interest in news and politics.
- Younger subscribers tend to pay less and are more likely to make donations than older groups.
- Around half of non-subscribers say that nothing could persuade them to pay for online news, but others could be attracted by a lower price, more relevant content, or less cluttered (ad-free) websites and apps.
The report was written by Nic Newman, RISJ Senior Research Associate and a consultant on digital media; and Dr Craig T Robertson, RISJ Research Fellow.
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism is dedicated to exploring the future of journalism worldwide.
