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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

Weekly Subscription News: Music, Marvel and MoviePass

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In this week’s subscription news, Wired launches a paywall and gears up for long-form journalism, Ford’s Canvas subscription service hits 600 subscribers, and a report says that Disney’s new streaming service will omit R-rated content and let Netflix keep Marvel content. Also this week, we’re reading about Cinemark’s war on MoviePass, how Viacom is suffering from the rise in cord cutting, and Jeff Bezos is building an army of Prime members as the membership program continues to grow.

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Five on Friday: Ad Spending, Influencer Fraud and Blockchain

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Need a break from winter weather or the Winter Olympics? Weve got you covered with this weeks Five on Friday. In todays edition, Matrix Solutions says media ad spending was flat last year, Ion Interactive shares interesting and important content marketing stats, TechCrunch tells us about Joymode, a subscription that is supposed to stop us from buying everything we want, Adweek offers tips for stopping influencer fraud, and Venture Beat explores the idea that blockchain could kill Netflix and streaming video as we know it. Wait, what? Read on for more Five on Friday.

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GoARTful Lets Members Try Art Before They Buy It

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In a new twist on art collection, Washington, D.C. startup GoARTful, a gallery for the 21st century, lets members try out pieces of art in their home via subscription for $15 to $50 per month. After signing up, members choose between limited prints or original art from an artist’s studio, based on the member’s budget. Members can try different pieces to see what best fits their tastes and space and exchange it for another piece when they’re ready. Members also get the opportunity to join their local artist community to meet the artists and get free admission to exclusive art events in their area.

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WWE Reports Record Revenue of $801.0 Million in 2017

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The only thing stronger than WWE’s host of celebrity wrestlers is its rock-solid financials, as evidenced by WWE’s fourth quarter and full-year 2017 financials, released last week. Among the highlights for the fourth quarter for WWE (NYSE: WWE) was record revenue of $211.6 million, an increase of 9 percent over the fourth quarter of 2016. The company reported net income of $4.8 million, or $0.06 per share, compared to $8.0 million, or $0.10 per share, for the same period last year.

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Digital First Media to Buy Boston Herald for $11.9 Million

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Yesterday the Boston Herald announced that Digital First Media will acquire the newspaper for $11.9 million. Offering more than double the amount of two other bidders, Digital First Media beat out GateHouse Media who bid $4.5 million and Revolution Capital who bid $5.75 million at a 5-hour bankruptcy auction conducted by the bankruptcy law firm Brown Rudnick in Boston. The winning bid is subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, said the Herald. A hearing is set for Friday. The sale is expected to close by March 28.

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New York Times Reports 19.2 Percent Growth in Subscriptions in Q4

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While The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) reported a net loss of $57.8 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2017, the company also experienced some impressive growth. Total revenue for Q4 was $484.1 million, or 10.1 percent higher, than $439.7 million in revenue reported for Q4 2016. Subscription revenue grew 19.2 percent, other revenues increased 12.0 percent, and advertising revenue decreased 1.3 percent.

New York Times Reports 19.2 Percent Growth in Subscriptions in Q4 Read More »

Amazon More Than Doubles Net Income in Q4 to $1.9 billion

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The holiday season usually boosts Amazon’s bottom line, but 2017 was an exceptional year with Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) reporting net sales of $60.5 billion, a 38 percent increase over $43.7 billion in net sales in Q4 2016. The company also reported net income of $1.9 billion, or $3.75 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter alone, more than double net income of $749 million, or $1.54 per diluted share reported in the fourth quarter of 2016. Total outstanding shares at year end were 504 million, compared to 497 million at the end of 2016.

Amazon More Than Doubles Net Income in Q4 to $1.9 billion Read More »

Weekly Subscription News: Police, Prosecutors and Patreon

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ICYMI, this week was full of big news and performances. The Super Bowl, the Dow Jones, the Winter Olympics and Trump’s tweets are among the hot topics of the day. Meanwhile, subscription companies did not disappoint with news of their own, including big subscription numbers from HBO Now, the pending launch of a subscription app for ESPN, and a confirmed launch date for Nintendo Online. Also this week, we heard about magazine subscription scams, email scams and streaming music companies battling for the top spot.

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Five on Friday: Paywalls, Personalization and Top Jobs

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Anxious for the Olympics to kick off? Ease your angst with some super subscription ideas and advice. In this weeks edition of Five on Friday, tech giants like Apple and Google are trading licensing revenue for recurring revenue, big brands are slashing advertising budgets in favor of personalization, Digital River explains why customer-centric subscription companies are the most successful, Ad Exchange tells us why paywall strategies are about much more than the bottom line, and LinkedIn shares top subscription jobs.

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Tronc Sells LA Times and San Diego Union-Tribune for $500 Million in Cash

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On Wednesday, Tronc (NASDAQ: TRNC) announced it would sell the Los Angeles Times and The San Diego Union-Tribune for $500 million to billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong in an all-cash sale. Soon-Shiong, who is the second-largest shareholder of Tronc, also agreed to buy Spanish-language Hoy Los Angeles and community newspapers. assume $90 billion in pension liabilities. The after-tax proceeds from the sale will be used to repay all outstanding corporate debt. The deal is expected to close late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2018.

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