Maclean's sub price to rise?
In a story that was otherwise light on information, Rick Westhead of the Toronto Star interviewed Ken Whyte, the Publisher and Editor of Maclean's and we found out that Whyte would like to increase subscriptions by 17% and charge $34.95.
posted by D. B. Scott at
10:54 pm
4 Comments:
Confusingly, the Star article did refer to a "hike" in subscription prices, and cites the rather cheap sub offers that Maclean's appears to have been testing of late, but I think their basic annual price is still over $50, and their latest ABC statement (through Dec05) shows their annual average sub price as being $52.52. Maybe I've missed something, but I think Mr Whyte must have been talking about an increase in the lowest price they would be willing to market-test. Or something.
The Subscribe page on Maclean's site currently shows $39.95, positioned the price for 39 issues, with 13 free bonus issues tossed in for good measure (total 52). Still, that's more than $34.95, not less.
Confusion all round, methinks.
Perhaps this is what comes of having such a plethora of rates, some widely publicized, some not. Assuming, however, that readers aren't stupid and won't pay the "published" rate when a lower one is readily available, the $29.95 rate has been an offer out there for some time now. So, yes, he is talking about raising the floor. Presumably, Rogers will continue to take $50 from those gullible enough to pay it.
I do find it a bit odd for the magazine's Editor and Publisher to shoot his mouth off in public, rather than letting his circulators offer special introductory offers on a (presumably) selective basis.
I saw Whyte on the CEO panel at the Canadian Media Directors' Conference and to paraphrase him, he said he would like to "stabilize Maclean's subscriber base and generate more revenue from it".
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