A Sign of The Times
News
The New York Times' Digital Revenue Passes Print
The Times is one of a few legacy newspapers that has successfully transitioned to digital. Revenue from digital-only subscriptions now exceeds that from subscriptions that include a print copy. The company also surpassed 7 million subscribers and hopes to hit 10 million by 2025. The Times enjoyed a bump in subscribers following the election of Donald Trump. How many of those subscribers will stick around for a Biden presidency remains to be seen. Link.
Netflix Raises Prices
The top streamer announced price hikes for two of its tiers. Following lackluster subscriber growth in Q3, Netflix is looking to generate more cash to fund new content. The company has largely saturated the US market and is now focused on further expanding internationally. At the same time, they need to continue investing in strong content to fend off competition from HBO, Disney, and Amazon. Link.
Beauty Box Companies Merge
Ipsy acquired BoxyCharm for around $500 million. The combined company will be known as BFA Industries and is expected to generate over $1 billion this year off of 4.3 million subscribers. The brands will continue to operate separately. Beauty box companies that enable subscribers to try sample sizes of products were big news several years ago but have failed to live up to the initial hype. Link.
Apple One Launches with Little Fanfare
Apple launched its new subscription that bundles Music, tv+, Arcade, iCloud storage, News+, and Fitness+ into three different tiers. The kicker: Fitness+ is not yet available. So you can pay $29.95 now for the services mentioned above and the pleasure of one day getting Fitness+. Despite leaning into services, Apple still has a long way to go to understanding subscriptions. The Apple One bundle is not super compelling and one hopes they will continue to add new services to it over time. Link.
It’s a Good Time to be a Dating App
Match group, the company that owns Tinder, Hinge, and other dating apps, reported better-than-expected earnings. Hinge, in particular, has seen a surge with subscriptions up 82% this year. Link.
____, But Make it a Subscription
Plane Wifi
For $49.95 a month, American Airlines flyers can access wifi on most flights in North America. Based on personal experience, there's only a 50% chance the wifi will work though. Link.
Home Maintenance
Manorly is a Dallas-based company that enables you to wrap cleaning, landscaping, and maintenance of your home into a monthly subscription. Subscribers pay $99-$410 per month for 24/7 support from Manorly and inspections. Link.
Get That Money, Honey
Nestle Acquires Freshly
Unlike other meal delivery companies, Freshly dishes are preprepared and only require reheating. The company pivoted part of its business to B2B when COVID hit, enabling companies to send meals to workers at home. Link.
WHOOP Raises $100 million
The fitness wearable company raised a Series E valuing it at $1.2 billion. WHOOP differentiates itself by being a wearable for fitness junkies and athletes and is subscription-only. Users pay $30 a month and get the band for "free.” Link.
Edtech Consolidates
The sector has benefited from more people staying at home and relying on online tools. M&A activity is the result of intensifying competition. Link.
UnderArmour Sells MyFitnessPal
The fitness apparel brand is selling MyFitnessPal, an app that enables users to track nutrition and workouts, to Francisco Partners for $345 million. That's less than the company paid to buy it in 2015. UnderArmour has been struggling in recent years and likely needs the cash. Link.