Churning off the news: An analysis of newspaper subscriber churn across digital devices

Abstract

Subscriber churn is of utmost importance for newspapers, which have for decades been struggling to maintain the robust readership they used to enjoy. This is especially true in a digital media landscape that operates within an attention economy. This study examined the difference in subscriber churn across 29 newspaper properties in large U.S. chain. Using subscriber data gathered from all 29 newspapers, this study analyzed whether the device and digital platform on which one consumes news impacts the churn probability of subscribers. The authors found that there were clusters of device usage and that different combinations of device usage impacted churn probability for subscribers, particularly on mobile. Churn was highest for those using mobile browser, presumably because of poor reading experience, which is a call to action for news organizations who have not prioritized the mobile news experience.