The New York Times is looking for more money from print subscribers in 2014 as it continues to contend with declining print and digital advertising revenues alike.
Home delivery subscribers received a letter with their papers over the weekend notifying them that starting Jan. 6, the cost of home delivery would increase 30 to 60 cents per week, depending on the level of service. For a Saturday-Sunday subscription, the increase translates to a 5.6 percent hike, for example.
Circulation revenue has been a bright spot for the Times, so it's no wonder the paper is going back to readers, hat in hand, as it grapples with softening ad revenue. Circulation recently surpassed ad revenue, counter to newspaper industry trends. In the third quarter of 2013, revenue grew 4.8 percent and digital-only paying subscribers jumped 28 percent versus the year-ago period.
So far, readers haven't pushed back, and it remains to be seen if that time will come. Until then, the Times notice reminded home delivery subscribers that their support makes it possible for the paper to sustain its Pulitzer-winning reporting and that they get unlimited digital access to the Times, which would be adding "great new digital features in the months ahead."