Judging by early reviews, The New York Times subscription plan is not a hit with users of its iPad and iPhone apps. At least, it’s not a hit with users motivated enough to leave comments in the iTunes App Store.
A flurry of comments have been posted for the Times’ iPhone and iPad apps in the last 24 hours. Most of them are negative, and the vast majority assign a rating of one star out five.
If you pay attention to app reviews (like app developers do) you know that it’s not unusual for people to respond negatively to an app update; unhappy consumers are more likely to leave comments than happy ones. (There was an increase in comments for the iPhone app after it was updated last week, but reviewers started to focus on price once it went subscription-only yesterday.)
Still, the comments do tell us something about consumer response.
iPhone app
The Times iPhone app is averaging 3.5 stars. But 35 of the most recent 40 reviews (as of Tuesday morning) have given it a single star. According to users, it’s too expensive:
Nathan Francis
Not worth it
$10/month for all access (iPad, iPhone, website) and I’d happily oblige, but this pricing is unworkable. First, charge by the month not by the four week increment. Second, $455/year for iPad and iPhone access is not worth it when many other high quality news sources are free.
As I noted yesterday, the Times has a few months before Apple requires apps to offer in-app subscriptions, of which Apple will take a 30 percent cut. Right now, users of the Times apps are taken to a Web page, where they must enter their credit card information.
Some customers prefer the simplicity of one-click purchasing, as with other products in the iTunes Store:
Brandon Walker
Great app but…
I am reporting this app for not using Apple’s built-in subscription model. The developer rules state all subscriptions must be made through Apple’s subscription API. [The Times actually has until June 30 to implement this.] That being said it’s a poor app without one click purchasing.Sean Rabitt
I thought subscriptions were handled by Apple
Why is this app asking for credit card information? I thought all in app purchases and subscriptions were handled by the app store. Why should I need to reenter billing info or trust a third party to my billing info.
To be fair, some users are happy with the iPhone app update:
KatyDidNot
I LOVE the portrait orientation lock!!!
Yes, I lost a number of saved articles! Very unhappy about that!
But oh my gosh, the update is fabulous! Better visual quality, photographs, more content, etc. I LOVE this update! More than ever, access via this app is worth paying for!…
iPad app
The iPad app, which has fewer comments and ratings, is averaging 2.5 stars. However, that rating also has dropped in the past 24 hours, as 17 out of the most recent 20 reviews (as of Tuesday morning) gave it one star.
Again, the main issue is price:
Diana21
Bye, Times…
This one star rating is only due to the extremely high subscription fee. I don’t mind paying for the excellent content of the NYTimes, but $20/mo is not worth it when there are so many other options. How about a Sunday only sub option? Lower the price and you won’t have so many people running in the opposite direction.
Cyro
Subs
Trying to charge for content. Have they heard of the Internet?
The people posting these comments are current or past users of the Times app — a self-selected group of people interested enough in news to download the app. Whether they’re interested enough to pay for Times journalism, well, that’s the ultimate question. People like this are exactly the audience the Times and other newspapers would like to convert to paying digital customers.
As easy as it is to dismiss anonymous ratings and comments, some of these users do appear to understand the economics of print and digital media:
Fahrvergnugen
It isn’t just a slow app anymore…
Now it is slow AND Expensive
When I buy a print edition paper, the price rarely covers the printing and distribution costs. The paper makes money by selling me ads.
In a digital format, don’t charge me a premium for content and serve me expensive ads. Delete.
Disclosure: In May I will start a job at The Boston Globe, which is owned by the New York Times Co., as a product manager for mobile. I haven’t had any access to discussions regarding the paywall.
Comments