CNN, Reuters Putting A Paywall On Websites

The global news organization Reuters will start charging readers who come directly to its news site and apps. The subscription, which will cost $1 a week, will be launched this month in Canada and roll out in the U.S. and parts of Europe in the coming weeks and months.

In charging readers, Reuters is following a path that many other publishers are pursuing as ad-supported business models come under strain. The Warner Bros. Discovery-owned news operation is putting a paywall on CNN.com, requiring U.S. users to pay $3.99 a month or a discounted rate of $29.99 a year for access. The subscription will allow unlimited usage of the site, which is visited by 150 million people globally each month.

CNN’s reason for the move is rooted in the problems that plague all of traditional television. Consumers are spending more time with online video and canceling their traditional pay-TV subscriptions. Revenue from cable and satellite subscribers is declining as cord-cutting continues at a steady pace each year. The trend, along with a decline in ratings, has put pressure on CNN’s profit margins.

Reuters is known for licensing its content to other news organizations around the world. Its consumer-facing news site represents just a sliver of its global news operation. The company has 2,600 full-time journalists around the world who churn out news articles and videos that are picked up by other publishers.

The effort to pursue subscriptions follows a yearslong push to get people to register their information with the outlet once they read a certain number of articles. Reuters will rely on subscription revenue to expand its coverage and ultimately its consumer-facing business, said Reuters President Paul Bascobert in an interview.

“It hasn’t been a place where we’ve decided to push aggressively in terms of growth and investment, “he said. “Having subscriptions now gives us the basis to invest.”

While the paid-subscription model has panned out for established news publishers such as The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, newcomers could face challenges in an already crowded news and entertainment subscription market. They also risk eroding web traffic, lowering their reach and appeal to advertisers.