The American newsmagazine “Time” returns to free online

“We believe in the democratization of content”. Contrary to what most of the major Anglo-Saxon press publishers are doing, the general manager of “Time” has decided that the newsmagazine will return to free online. While the American “pure players” of news in line ( BuzzFeed , Vice, etc.) are cutting back and the advertising situation is difficult, the choice of “Time” – which has just celebrated its centenary – is out of place. According to its boss, Jessica Sibley, the objective is to promote the brand and increase audiences on the Web. “It is really important to rejuvenate and diversify our audiences around the world,” she told young American media Axios on Thursday.

New editorial director

No coincidence then that “Time” has just appointed a new editorial director, Sam Jacobs. This 30-year-old is the youngest journalist to hold this position since the co-founders Henry Luce and Britton Hadden. Quite a symbol. Launched in 1923 with 86,000 dollars, “Time” embodied with “Life” and “Fortune” the prototype of the newsmagazine and will be for decades a model for many titles in the United States and Europe.

With the removal of the “paywall”, the desire is to better monetize the content financed by advertising on the site, the app or on social networks. All content including archives will be free! The publisher of “Time” wants to stick as much as possible to consumer behavior, explains the leader, without however giving more details. In addition, according to Axios, “Time” will also continue to rely heavily on its event activities.

250,000 digital subscribers

Acquired in 2018 for 190 million dollars by the boss of Salesforce, Marc Benioff, and his wife, “Time” still has 1.3 million subscribers to its print version, but the title – which introduced its “paywall” in 2011 – has fumbled a lot in its digital strategy and never really managed to grow its online following base. The famous newsmagazine has only 250,000 digital subscribers while the “New York Times” a leader in the field, claimed 8.8 million digital-only subscriptions at the end of 2022 (excluding The Athletic).

Concretely, “Time” will therefore stop its “paywall” from 1er June. But the PDF of its paper edition will also be available – and will remain payable – on digital kiosks. Last year, its turnover was around 200 million dollars, of which about a quarter thanks to Time Studios, its branch which produces films, documentaries and series. As for the editorial, according to Axios, “Time” should instead stick to its usual score, keeping a particular focus on topics such as climate, health and politics.