The New York Times today announced a series of strategic initiatives,
which aim to grow the company’s revenues by leveraging its brand and the
power and popularity of its award-winning journalism. Among the planned
initiatives are the next phase in The Times’s digital subscription/paid
products strategy; an international expansion under the new unified
brand; and a renewed emphasis on both video production and brand
extensions. These initiatives will begin to roll out in the fourth
quarter of 2013 into 2014.
Mark Thompson, the president and chief executive officer of The New York
Times Company, said, “We mean to grow our business by launching new
products and services based on the unique strengths of Times journalism
and by investing in the rapid expansion of existing operations – video
and live events are examples – where we’re already seeing strong growth.
We want to deepen our relationship with our existing loyal customers,
but we also want to use a wider family of New York Times products to
reach new customers both here and around the world.”
New products under development as part of the strategy include:
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A lower-priced paid product designed to allow access to The Times’s
most important and interesting stories in a convenient, media-rich
package for consumers looking for an efficient way to stay informed.
Consumer research has suggested very strong demand for such a product.
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Other new products, also at lower price points, that would offer deep
access and additional content and other new features in specific
content areas such as politics, technology, opinion, the arts and food.
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An enhanced tier that would offer extras at a higher price point to
“all digital access” and print subscribers. Subscribers will likely be
offered access to Times events and the ability to gift subscriptions
and provide full family access, among other incentives.
Growing international subscribers is another key component of the
company’s strategy. As announced earlier this year, The Times will
rebrand the International Herald Tribune as the International New York
Times in the fourth quarter of 2013.
By the sheer quality and breadth of its journalism, The New York Times
has become one of the best-known news organizations in the world. The
company believes that under a unified brand, there is a real opportunity
to drive new international revenues, particularly through the
acquisition of new digital subscribers. The Times will invest in
international marketing and in pricing and payment methods to localize
the purchase process, which will make it easier for international
readers to become subscribers.
The development of a more robust and comprehensive video presence is
another strategic initiative, which is still in the early stages of
development. The company recently appointed a new general manager of
video production to lead the effort to scale The Times’s video business
to satisfy the demands of both users and advertisers.
The fourth component of the plan for growth is through brand extensions.
The company believes that The Times can leverage its key assets of brand
strength, marketing prowess and audience quality to generate incremental
revenues by selling goods and services that match current reader and
customer needs. The planned areas of focus are games and e-commerce. An
expansion of the company’s conference business is also planned.
“The initiatives we are announcing today should be seen as a significant
first step in our effort to put The New York Times Company on a path to
sustainable growth,” said Mr. Thompson. “Last month, we announced a new
organizational structure to help The Times concentrate on innovation and
new product development as well as on the management of our existing
businesses. Today’s announcement should be seen alongside that
reorganization – and our plans to sell the New England Media Group and
rebrand the International Herald Tribune – as evidence of our
determination to focus all of our energy and creativity on the future of
The New York Times itself and to establish it as the most innovative as
well as authoritative print and digital news provider in the world.”
About The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT), a leading global, multimedia news
and information company with 2012 revenues of $2.0 billion, includes The
New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, NYTimes.com,
BostonGlobe.com,
Boston.com
and related properties. The company’s core purpose is to enhance society
by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news and
information.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters
discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those predicted by such forward-looking
statements. These risks and uncertainties include risks detailed
from time to time in the company’s publicly filed documents, including
the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 30,
2012. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
