(Reuters) -The New York Times on Wednesday projected fourth-quarter subscription revenue growth above Wall Street expectations, betting that its strategy to bundle news with more lifestyle and sports content will drive stronger demand from consumers.
Shares of the company rose about 4% in premarket trading.
News consumption in the U.S. has been propped up by consumers wanting to stay in the know at a time of increased political and economic uncertainties, shifting geopolitical landscapes, and deepening concern about climate change.
Aiming to target a wider pool of audience and better retain existing subscribers, NYT has been bundling its digital products including news reports, podcasts, games like Wordle and crosswords, its archive of recipes and sports coverage into one subscription package.
Earlier this year, NYT said that at least 50% of its total subscribers were on the bundle or on multiple products, something that is expected to further boost engagement and, subsequently, subscription revenues at the company.
The publisher expects total subscription revenues to rise 8% to 10% in the current quarter, compared with estimates for an 8% increase, according to data compiled by LSEG.
It added about 460,000 digital-only subscribers in the third quarter, compared with 230,000 in the prior quarter and handily beating estimates of 214,500, according to Visible Alpha.
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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