The New York Times hits 10m subscriber target thanks to The Athletic and game expansion
The New York Times surpassed market expectations today as digital subscriptions boomed for the 170-year-old newspaper.
Its digital subscriber base swelled by 375,000 in the last three months of 2021 and the company met its target of 10 million subscribers by 2025, thanks to the $550m (£405m) acquisition of sports website The Athletic.
The iconic paper has also set a target of at least 15 million subscribers by year-end 2027.
Total revenue rose 16.7 per cent to $594.2m (£437.7m) in the fourth quarter, compared with the average analyst estimate of $578.9m (£426.5m), according to Refinitiv data.
The company posted an adjusted profit of 43 cents per share, compared with expectations of 35 cents.
It has in recent years tried to diversify its revenue by building out a portfolio of games and cooking recipes, as well as acquiring businesses such as audio app Audm and product review website Wirecutter.
Just this week, The New York Times snapped up the viral game Wordle for a “low seven figure” sum.