Nine Publishing hikes digital subscription prices by 20%
Nine Publishing has increased the price of its digital subscriptions for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times, and WA Today. It is the second year in a row it has hiked prices at the end of June.
A digital subscription for any of the four mastheads has now risen from $21.49 a month, to $25.99 – a 21% hike.
An email sent from the Herald to subscribers detailing the price rise doesn’t give a reason, but states: “Your ongoing commitment enables our Sydney newsroom to produce the reliable, accurate, high-quality journalism The Sydney Morning Herald has delivered since 1831.”
It should come as no surprise that media companies announce price increases at the end of financial year in order that they can put in a full year of revenue into their accounts for the next financial year. If they did it at Christmas, they would only have six months at the new price you see.
A lot of companies seem to exclude customers who have less than six months tenure from price rises, so it is possible to cancel and resubscribe at the right time of year to avoid that years price rise.
Are Nine mastheads value at the new price? I don’t know, I wouldn’t have read them at the old price…..but I can say I would definitely prefer to spend the money on Max, or Disney……