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Dana E. Neuts

Dana Neuts is Subscription Insider's Editorial Director, covering our daily subscription news as well as member features, case studies, premium content, and reports. Dana is also a writer, editor, marketer and communications professional. Her work has appeared in AARP Bulletin, The Seattle Times, Seattle Business, 425 Business, 425 Magazine, South Sound Magazine, Northwest Travel and more. Her specialties include business writing, community news, senior issues, travel and, of course, subscriptions!

Dana E. Neuts

Discovery Dishes Up Food Network Kitchen Streaming Service

Consumer Services, Entertainment and Streaming, Freemium, News, Product Development, Revenue and Sales, SaaS and Cloud Services, Subscriber Acquisition /

If you cant get enough of live cooking shows or on-demand instructional videos, you might be excited to hear about the first-of-its-kind live, interactive streaming video service to come to a device near you. Discovery, Inc. is dishing up Food Network Kitchen, for $6.99 a month, or $59.99 a year, following a 90-day free trial. Subscribers who sign up during the promotional period will pay just $47.99 a year. The new streaming service that will feature over 25 weekly live and interactive cooking programs and 800+ instructional videos you can watch at your leisure. It looks like the Food Network Kitchen will use a freemium model, offering select videos and recipes for free.

Discovery Dishes Up Food Network Kitchen Streaming Service Read More »

Beauty Box Brand IPSY Hits $500 Million Milestone

Auto-renew Subscription, Business Strategy, Consumer Services, News, Product Development, Revenue and Sales, Subscriber Acquisition, Subscription Boxes /

Beauty box brand IPSY hit a major milestone last week, hitting revenue of more than $500 million. Founded in 2011 as early adopters of the subscription box model, the company said it is the third largest subscription service after Amazon and the largest beauty subscription in the world. Among its impressive accomplishments, the company has shipped more than 1 billion products to date, its online community has more than 25 million members, over 160 million product reviews, and half a billion content views each month.

Beauty Box Brand IPSY Hits $500 Million Milestone Read More »

Recurly Raises $19.5 Million to Fund Sales, Marketing and R&D

Auto-renew Subscription, Business Operations, Business Services, FInance, Industry Announcements, News, Payment Processing, Revenue and Sales, SaaS and Cloud Services, Subscriber Retention, Technology /

Subscription management platform Recurly is wrapping up September in style. Last week the San Francisco-based startup announced it raised $19.5 million in Series C funding. This brings its total venture capital raised to date to $39.1 million, according to Crunchbase. The latest funding round was led by F-Prime Capital with additional investments from Silicon Valley Bank, Polaris Partners and Greycroft.

Recurly Raises $19.5 Million to Fund Sales, Marketing and R&D Read More »

New York Times Loses Subscribers After Revealing Whistleblower Details

Consumer Services, News, Revenue and Sales, Subscription Business Marketing /

Cancellations of subscriptions to The New York Times are growing in the wake of an article the paper published last Thursday, revealing personal details about the identity of a government whistleblower, reports Forbes. The whistleblower, who asked for anonymity, made a formal complaint about a July 25 phone call between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in which President Trump allegedly asked for an investigation into Joe Bidens son, Hunter, according to NBC News.

New York Times Loses Subscribers After Revealing Whistleblower Details Read More »

Weekly Subscription News: Luminary, Launches and Free Loot

Business Services, Consumer Services, Entertainment and Streaming, Industry Announcements, Mergers and Acquisitions, News, Payment Processing, Product Development, Subscriber Acquisition, Subscription Apps, Subscription Gaming /

The subscription world was a little quieter this week, but there is still plenty of interesting news to be had. Amazon waves its mobile game flag to give free loot to Prime subscribers, Spot gives subscription injury insurance a shot, and Luminary announces new titles in its fall line-up. Also this week, Twitch acquires Internet Gaming Database, GoCardless comes to the U.S., and Spotify revamps its app for artists.

Weekly Subscription News: Luminary, Launches and Free Loot Read More »

illustration of the number five, representing the five subscription business topics for this column, Five-on-Friday

Five on Friday: Apple Arcade, Ad Fraud and Ad Networks

Business Services, Consumer Services, Industry Announcements, News, Product Development, Regulation and Compliance, Revenue and Sales, Subscriber Acquisition, Subscriber Only, Subscription Boxes, Subscription Business Marketing, Subscription Gaming /

It is hard to be it is already fall. Where did the year go?!! Despite the changing of the seasons, the subscription economy is growing strong. In this week’s Five on Friday, we talk about sneaker subscriptions (hint – it’s not about the shoes)! Also, Apple and Google take their gaming subscription services live, two ad blockers for Chrome are caught in an ad fraud scheme, the Washington Post launches an ad network, and Marketing Profs shares some tips on how to get the attention of millennials and Gen Z.

Five on Friday: Apple Arcade, Ad Fraud and Ad Networks Read More »

Vox Media Buys New York Magazine and Related Media Assets

Auto-renew Subscription, Business Operations, Consumer Services, Industry Announcements, Magazines, Mergers and Acquisitions, News, Revenue and Sales /

In the ever-changing world of publishing, a new deal emerges as Vox Media agrees to acquire New York Media, the owner of the biweekly New York Magazine and related media assets – The Cut, Grub Street, Intelligencer, The Strategist and Vulture. Pamela Wasserstein, CEO of New York Media, has been looking for a buyer for the last year, reports The New York Times. She began talks with Vox this summer. Wasserstein will remain with the company, serving as president of Vox Media and as a member of the Vox Media board.

Vox Media Buys New York Magazine and Related Media Assets Read More »

FTC Sues Match.com for Alleged Deceptive and Unfair Business Practices

Auto-renew Subscription, Business Operations, Consumer Services, Freemium, News, Product Development, Regulation and Compliance, Revenue and Sales, Subscriber Acquisition, Subscription Apps /

If you are looking for that special someone using a dating app, be wary of Match.com. Yesterday the Federal Trade Commission announced it is suing Match Group, Inc. for five deceptive or unfair business practices to get people to subscribe to their service and to stay subscribed. Match owns Match.com, Tinder, OKCupid, PlentyOfFish, Meetic and dozens of other dating sites. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas yesterday, the FTC alleges that Match – who controls approximately 25% of the online dating market – tricked hundreds of thousands of consumers into subscribing to Match.com and making cancellation difficult. Match is based in Dallas.

FTC Sues Match.com for Alleged Deceptive and Unfair Business Practices Read More »

Payments Startup Stripe Raises $250M in New Funding

Business Operations, Business Services, Business Strategy, FInance, Industry Announcements, News, Payment Processing, SaaS and Cloud Services, Subscription Apps /

Payments startup Stripe is doing a lot more than payments these days. Last week the fintech company announced it raised $250 million in its latest funding round that includes Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst and Sequoia, all previous investors. Founded in 2010, the companys total in venture capital raised to date is $1 billion which also includes investors like Visa, Kleiner Perkins and CapitalG. As a result of this Series F round of funding, Stripe has been valued at $35 billion, an increase of $15 billion in the last year, reports Business Insider. The company does not have any immediate plans to take the company public.

Payments Startup Stripe Raises $250M in New Funding Read More »