We can’t replace the anticipation of the final season of “Game of Thrones,” but in this week’s edition of Five on Friday, we hope to peak your interest with some fun facts about GoT. We will also share some fascinating findings about the future of subscriptions from Zuora’s “The End of Ownership” report, the Boston Globe becoming the first newspaper to have digital subscribers outweigh print subscribers, how some magazines have survived a life without print, and the new trend toward emotional advertising. [Have a topic to suggest? Email me at [email protected] with your ideas!]

“Game of Thrones” Generates More Than $3 Billion in Subscription Revenue

Whether you are a “Game of Thrones” fan or not, you are probably aware that the award-winning, pop culture favorite concluded this spring with its eighth and final season. The HBO program generated more than $3 billion in subscription revenue since 2011, reports Daily Caller. The final season alone is estimated to have brought in $528 million, or 17%, of that $3.1 billion. According to Observer, when season 7 debuted last year, U.S. subscriptions to HBO Now, HBO’s streaming platform, increased by 91%.

Here are a few other juicy tidbits from the show:

• 73 episodes over 8 seasons
• 566 total characters
• Total show run time: 69 hours, 26 minutes
• Total show budget: $1.5 billion
• Cost of entire show to HBO per viewer: $30.90

What will happen to HBO’s and HBO Now’s subscribers? How much churn will HBO see? It depends on what they’ve got waiting in the wings to replace GoT. It will be a hard act to follow.    

One-Third of U.S. Consumers Will Subscribe to More Services in Two Years 

While more companies are joining the subscription economy, skeptics are predicting subscription fatigue, because virtually everything is available via subscription these days. Sure, some consumers are tired of subscriptions – or at least for paying for products and services they aren’t using. But it doesn’t look like the subscription model is going away anytime soon – at least not according to a November 2018 international survey by Zuora and The Harris Poll. The survey included opinions from 13,459 adults across 12 countries and Zuora shared those results in its “The End of Ownership” report.

According to the survey, on average, American consumers pay for three subscription services, an increase from five years ago when the average was 2.4. About one third, or 34% of survey respondents from the U.S., said they would use more subscription services within the next two years. This is equal to the international total, but lower than China at 53%, Spain at 42%, Italy at 40%, Singapore at 38% and New Zealand at 35%.

About 60% of U.S. survey respondents said they would have the same number of subscriptions in two years, and 7% said they would have fewer subscription services. Internationally, including the U.S., 58% of survey respondents said they would have the same number of subscriptions, and 9% said they would have fewer subscriptions in two years.

As part of the survey, Zuora and The Harris Poll identified some of the primary reasons people find the subscription model attractive:

• 42% said convenience (50% in U.S.)
• 35% said cost savings (41% in U.S.)
• 32% said more variety (38% in U.S.)
• 30% said access to “the latest and greatest” (34% in U.S.)

Other benefits to subscribing versus ownership included increased reliability (27% U.S.), having fewer physical items (28% U.S.), increased value (26% U.S.), more control (29% U.S.), exclusivity (20% U.S.), sustainability (19% U.S.), better support (21% U.S.), and better relationships with vendors (13% U.S.). Another interesting finding was that adults in the U.S. are 57% more likely than adults in other countries to be interested in streaming TV and movies on-demand.

For more fascinating findings, download the original report, “The End of Ownership, at Zuora.com.

Boston Globe Becomes First Paper to Have More Digital Subscribers Than Print

In a recent report, the Boston Business Journal reports that the Boston Globe now has more digital subscribers than print subscribers, a benchmark no other local paper has yet achieved. In information filed with the Alliance for Audited Media, the Globe reported the following, as of March 31:

• Weekday subscribers of 98,978
• Digital subscribers of 112,241

Joshua Benton wrote about the milestone for Nieman Lab.

“…for a local paper to have the majority of its subscribers in digital is, to my knowledge, unprecedented,” Benton said.

Despite the continued loss of print subscribers, how has the Globe been able to grow its digital audience? Benton offered his thoughts:

–      The Globe has been successful in offering promotions to attract new subscribers.

–      The promotions may offer an initial deal of $0.99 for four weeks, but after the promo, an annual digital-only subscription to Globe.com costs $0.99 per day, or $361.35 a year. Compare this deal to a much cheaper deal from the New York Times. Their initial promo offer is $4 every four weeks for a year and then $15 a week every four weeks.

–      The Globe’s market tends to be better educated and to be more highly paid.

–      According to Benton, the Globe has made fewer reductions to newsroom staff than other papers.

Read Benton’s original article on Nieman Lab for more insights.

Magazines: Is There Life After Print? 

Similar to newspapers, magazines have struggled to survive financially as readers move away from print toward digital editions. To meet readers where they are – and to keep the lights on – many magazines are moving away from print or shuttering completely. Here are some of the changes we’ve seen in recent years:

–      In November, Condé Nast said it would shutter the print edition of Glamour magazine after its January 2019 issue. In November 2018, Glamour’s online traffic was 5.5 million. In April 2019, traffic decreased to 4.35 million, according to SimilarWeb.com.

–      Meredith’s Cooking Light quit publication in 2018 and has been integrated into Eating Well, which will print 10 times a year. In November 2018, Eating Well had 4.8 million website visitors. In April 2019, traffic had dropped to 3.55 million, according to SimilarWeb.com. Cooking Light, which still has a website, had 3.5 million visitors in November 2018 and it grew to 4.0 million in April 2019, according to SimilarWeb.com.

–      Hearst’s Seventeen magazine prints only four special issues each year. Seventeen.com had 5.1 million website visitors in November 2018 and had decreased to 4.35 million in April 2019, according to SimilarWeb.com.

–      In 2017, Condé Nast announced that Teen Vogue would cease printing altogether to become an online-only publication. In November 2018, TeenVogue.com had 5.45 million website visitors and 4.56 million in April 2019, according to SimilarWeb.com.

–      The January/February 2018 issue was Condé Nast’s Self’s last print edition. In November 2018, website traffic was 7.7 Million. In April 2019, it had grown to 8.75 million, according to SimilarWeb.com.

In a recent article by Beth Braverman for Folio, Self editor-in-chief Carolyn Kylstra is pleased with the progress the magazine has made in 18 months. The magazine brand is now profitable and growth in 2019 is expected to continue. Kylstra said the success was due to a number of factors including redefining the mission and values of the brand and to convey that to advertisers. They focused on higher quality content instead of click-bait and to focus on differentiation and genuine engagement.

Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all success formula. Each magazine has its own unique brand, audience, mission and values, and they have to figure out for themselves what success means for them. Is it profitability, readership, award-winning content, subscription revenue, advertising revenue, or a combination of factors? As money gets tighter and the transition to digital continues, we expect to see more magazines move away from print – the question is how many will shut down and how many will continue in another form (e.g., special editions or online-only)? What do you think? 

Emotional Advertising: The New Trend in Online Ads 

Did you know that advertisers can now target online ads based on emotion – or emotions they think you will feel after reading a certain article? It is a technique the New York Times has been testing for over a year, reports Adweek. Based on reader input and machine learning, the publisher has identified 30 common emotions, 18 of which are for sale to advertisers, says Vox. Some of the emotions include bored, amused, optimistic, adventurous, inspired, happy, sad, hateful and hopeful.

According to Vox, the New York Times is not the first publisher to use this technique. USA Today and the Daily Beast have tested similar advertising trends, essentially putting a value on your state of mind. Vox said emotions are another metric that helps publishers and advertisers predict the likelihood a reader will be receptive to their ad.

In her Vox article, “Online Ads Can Be Targeted Based on Your Emotions,” Kaitlyn Tiffany said, “Emotion-based advertising can seem similarly simplistic, limiting and downright weird.”

I couldn’t agree more. It feels more manipulative than other types of advertising. How do you feel about this type of advertising? Would you want your favorite websites to advertise this way? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Comment below the article or email me at [email protected].