All the news that's fit to... convert into every single medium possible. Newspaper ad revenue has been devoured by Facebook and Alphabet. Long-form journalism has lost its audience at the same rate that our attention spans shrank (to Instagram-size). All this to say: The New York Times had to adapt. After 170 years of ink and paper, NYT is no longer a newspaper stock — it has morphed into a full-on multi-media stock:
- TV Shows: NYT reportedly has 10 scripted shows in development, including a limited series for Amazon. Its Modern Love column got turned into a Prime Video show (and NPR podcast). Its weekly news show streams on Hulu and FX.
- Documentaries: NYT has 3 features slated for this year, including one for Netflix. It also premiered two feature-length docs at Sundance (fancy).
- Audio: NYT's The Daily is a top-5 pod on Apple and Spotify. 1619 Project, its chart-topping pod on slavery, is being brought to film/TV (thanks to Lionsgate/Oprah).
- In case pods weren't enough: NYT acquired an app that turns articles into audio.
NYT’s core product isn’t articles... It’s stories. NYT is leveraging its intellectual property by licensing deals left and right. That's how it was able to rise from the newspaper ashes of ad-pocalypse... and be born again just as successfully across entirely new non-print media channels.
It’s not enough to be a one-trick content pony anymore... New mediums are key to reaching new audiences. Most people no longer have the attention span for longform journalism.
- NYT can reach them with the same content by repackaging it into a TV show or pod. It's easier to attract people with this “off-platform” journalism.
- Distribution is just as important: The Times’ goal is to have 10M digital subs by 2025. Partnering with big shots like Netflix and Amazon is key to driving top-of-funnel growth.