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Chicago Tribune Delivered (4 Days) for $0.50 per Week

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by YankeeFan, Feb 26, 2011.

  1. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    I still don't see this working for them.

    Sure, they're trying to get their paid circulation numbers up so it looks good for advertising, but at $0.125 per copy -- including for a heavy Sunday paper -- they will lose too much money per customer to make it worthwhile.
     
  2. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    If no one buys it at the regular price, what does that tell you?
     
  3. I Should Coco

    I Should Coco Well-Known Member

    It's all Walmart's fault! :D
     
  4. gravehunter

    gravehunter Member

    The LA Times offered a pretty good deal to me as well (not as good as the Trib's deal) and I took them up on it....twice. The first time I canceled because they weren't delivering the paper. I subscribed and canceled a few weeks later because they delivered the wrong paper.
    You get what you pay for (sometimes), I guess....
     
  5. MrHavercamp

    MrHavercamp Member

    These low subscription prices have already happened in the magazine business. I can't believe how cheap some of the 1-year rate offers I get from some pretty good magazines.
     
  6. LevinTBlack

    LevinTBlack Member

    I'm just going to say it, you must have no idea how advertising and the overall business model for radio, television and print works. Like someone already pointed out, the income from subscriptions is a very very small slice of the pie. A large majority of the income comes from advertising. This is true in all media. The higher the number of subscriptions, viewers or listeners the more you charge advertisers.

    Selling the paper to a reader at or below what it costs to get it to them works if you subscriptions number goes up enough for you to charge advertisers more. Say they get 5,000 new subscriptions and lose $0.05 to 0.10 per paper. That's 250-500 dollars a day and almost definitely less than what they would make in added revenue from ads. Keep in mind they will already be running the press so the only cost is the extra paper. They already have worked out pay for carriers and whoever the new subscribers fall to just have to deliver them.
     
  7. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    I'm sorry, but you're wrong.

    I understand perfectly well that there are costs associated with acquiring customers, and I understand that advertising is (or at least was) the main source of revenue for a newspaper and that if you can gro the audience, you can (theoretically) charge more in advertising.

    But, $0.125 per paper is way to low a price. Newsprint, paper, and delivery cost money. The Sunday paper in particular is big and heavy.

    If this was a great strategy, every paper would be doing it, and it wouldn't be a Groupon special for the Trib.

    It's a clear money loser. It's a desperate attempt to show an improvement (or at least not a big loss) in subscribers.

    Newspaper advertising is dropping, and stunts like this are not going to turn it around.

    And, if I was an advertiser, and I was, I would not be impressed with the Trib's new subscribers. Would you want to advertise your product to people who only subscribed when the price fell to $0.0125 per paper?

    Are they likely to even read the paper let alone buy your product? Very unlikely.
     
  8. LevinTBlack

    LevinTBlack Member

    You aren't thinking this fully through I don't think. Like I said before they already have the delivery people hired. Adding a couple of news houses to routes isn't going to increase costs. The only cost to them is the ink and paper. That will add up to more than the people are paying sure. That's what the bump in advertising does. Maybe the Tribune has problems selling ads. I don't know but a lot of big city newspaper fill ads easily, at least to my knowledge. If they aren't having issues filling ads then they control the price. If they are struggling to convince people to advertise then they probably won't be able to ask for more.
     
  9. Football_Bat

    Football_Bat Well-Known Member

    YF, you must be familiar with the concept of loss-leading in business. It's simply what the Trib is doing. Is it risky? Sure. But if it works, they'll make it up on the back end (and then some) through increased advertising income.
     
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