BILD: 200,571 digital subscriptions /WELT: 52,672 digital subscriptions
BILD and WELT are reporting sales figures for the first time using the new IVW reporting procedure for Paid Content. The first listing collects the data from May 2014 and was published today, Tuesday, 17 June 2014, by the IVW. The results indicate solid growth in digital subscriptions for both Axel Springer media brands.
In the IVW listing for May 2014, BILD reaches a total of 200,571 digital subscribers. DIE WELT reaches a total of 52,672 digital subscribers in the same month as counted by the IVW.
Donata Hopfen, Publishing Director of the BILD Group, on the new listing: "The results of the very first Paid Content listing are very pleasing. What newspaper has ever managed to reach such an impressive subscriber base in such a short period of time? The figures encourage us to continue on the path for paid journalistic offerings on the Internet. They clearly show that readers are prepared, in principle, to pay for content on the web – even in an environment in which other services are offered for free. Paid models are, however, still an experiment; we are at the beginning of the development and will continue to try out new ideas."
Stephanie Caspar, Publishing Director of the WELT Group, added: "We are pioneers in offering paid journalistic models on the web and now also in the listing of specific subscription numbers. We expect the monthly IVW figures to grow dynamically in the future – with upward and also downward fluctuations. This dynamism is dependent upon editorial topics, campaigns, co-operations and, of course, also by the fact that subscriptions can be terminated on a monthly basis. However, our initial experience with different paid models has been a very positive signal for us."
Both Axel Springer media brands had already reported initial sales figures in 2013. As at December 2013, BILD had approximately 152,000 digital subscriptions, in June 2013 WELT had approximately 47,000 digital subscriptions. Due to different counting methods, these figures are not comparable with the current sales figures reported to the IVW for digital paid models. One of the main differences is that the IVW only lists products with verifiable advertising by third-parties. Accordingly, digital subscriptions are discounted which cannot be attributed to a specific booking unit – such as Amazon Kindle. Apart from this, the IVW listing also includes test offers (trials) which are subject to charge.
In addition to the development of their digital subscriptions, BILD and WELT are still registering a stable reach following the introduction of the paid models.
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