NZ Herald deactivated online digital subscription cancellations

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Lastman

306 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2455201 5-Apr-2020 16:46

I believe their online subscriptions haven’t been a great success. Their (total) revenue has only been up a small amount since subscriptions began.

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bmt

574 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2455403 5-Apr-2020 22:41

I recall they claimed it would be actual premium/long form/investagative content and only make up a small portion of their news, and yet seemingly the majority of the time >50% of the top half of the Herald site is behind the paywall and a bunch of the articles are just standard articles from normal journalists. Their ZB chumps, even a bloody rugby article behind Phil Gifford lol.

If the theory was to put more and more stuff behind the paywall and make people think "oh I'll need to get Premium afterall" then it has failed miserably. I think Kiwis just have a strong aversion to paying for this kind of thing and sucks for them.

On a similar note I wonder how the lack of specials from the supermarkets will play out after the lockdown. Maybe they will see it as an opportunity to claw more profits..

Lastman

306 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2455427 6-Apr-2020 06:09

I took up the $1 offer mainly for extra news over the lockdown period and it also gives me access to my local newspaper. At $1 week I’d probably hold that subscription but at around $5 I wouldn’t. That may seem mean but that’s all it’s worth to me.

It’s the old print media dilemma, holding on to a dwindling number of higher value subscribers.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79007 posts

Uber Geek

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Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2455459 6-Apr-2020 08:16

After trying to access an article by @juha on the NZ Herald yesterday I commented that it sounded interested but behind the paywall. He (correctly) mentioned that the media still needs revenue to pay for journalists, editors, etc - this is something I agree.

I then mentioned this dark pattern (subscribe online, subscription cancellation requires contacting the call centre, talking to someone that will try to convince you to stay, etc). He wasn't aware of this and wasn't even sure this online cancellation once existed on the site as claimed here. Note he's not directly involved with subscription services or implementation.

A point raised by @brucehoult is that some people may have a problem with the cost of paying many different sources - for example I pay for Washington Post, The Guardian, Wired. This is no different than paying for Spotify, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other services - too fragmented and the costs accumulate.

Instead, I'd like to see a sponsorship service where one pays a fixed monthly fee and participant publishers get a fraction of that fee, based on a percentage of the user's total page view per month.

Yes, I know about Brave browser doing something similar. The idea is excellent. Unfortunately having the money converted into crypto tokens issued by Brave and then paid - as a crypto token - to publishers is not appealing to publishers. Too much work to convert a token into a currency that can be used to pay actual salaries, security risks too high with too many crypto exchanges being a scam, and so on.

In the end, it's what you value the information to be and how the media can distribute it effectively while paying for those who create the content.

Also, this is an interesting take on why hospitals and media are a target for "investors" that dismantle these institutions and how they end up disappearing.

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Benjip

940 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#2455471 6-Apr-2020 08:49

freitasm:

Instead, I'd like to see a sponsorship service where one pays a fixed monthly fee and participant publishers get a fraction of that fee, based on a percentage of the user's total page view per month.

I believe that's exactly how Apple News works. Would be great if it made it to little old NZ (it's in Australia already).

surfisup1000

5288 posts

Uber Geek

#2455473 6-Apr-2020 08:51

freitasm:

I then mentioned this dark pattern (subscribe online, subscription cancellation requires contacting the call centre, talking to someone that will try to convince you to stay, etc). He wasn't aware of this and wasn't even sure this online cancellation once existed on the site as claimed here. Note he's not directly involved with subscription services or implementation.

I subscribed to the herald opening offer last year... cancelled when it expired. While I'm really certain that I cancelled online, I could be wrong. I just don't recall phoning them to cancel.

But sometimes I work on 'autopilot' haha. Like when you are driving a really boring road and your mind wanders, then your attention snaps back to the driving and you can't recall the last 5 minutes driving. Maybe cancelling the herald the first time was the same.

Regardless, most other subscription services I use allow you to cancel online. I just hate people trying to talk me out of a decision I already made.

Juicytree

140 posts

Master Geek

Subscriber

#2455477 6-Apr-2020 08:54

For the past 8 - 10 years we have subscribed to pressreader.com for our printed news. Each morning a copy of our local Timaru Herald and Chch Press or the Sunday papers are waiting on our tablets. For $40 per month we can access most newspapers around the world - great at the moment where we have family in different parts of the world.

For our subscription we can access hundreds of magazines and newspapers all for the one monthly cost. It doesn't matter where we are in the country or the world we can access our local publications. There are a few of the major newspapers that are unavailable such as the Sydney Morning Herald and the New York Times (the Australian is available).

We have virtually no newspaper in our house and it's often difficult to find something to light our fire with in the winter. I download several IT magazines and my wife reads cooking publications; we have both been reading the Listener but that's folded now. Also can access The Week and Newsweek International. I recommend a subscription to anyone with a written newspaper or magazine thirst. Pressreader is Canadian but I note the subscription is paid to Dublin.

tardtasticx

3074 posts

Uber Geek

#2455525 6-Apr-2020 10:01

Classic Retention, same thing at things like mobile providers and other utilities. Can sign up immediately online without ever speaking to a person, when it comes to cancelling you need to call.
First person you speak to won’t be able to cancel it, another team has to do that.
You speak to the other team who try to win you back with discounts and freebies, or convince you that you’re reasons for cancelling are wrong.

I’m all for companies trying to keep customers, its business. But try to keep them before they decide to leave not at the last second when they want to leave by making it as difficult as possible.

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