Boston Globe Jacks Up Home Delivery to $1,345 Yearly

The priciest regional daily newspaper in the U.S. is about to get pricier, with as much as an 80 percent increase possible for some home delivery subscribers, according  to the Boston Business Journal.

Last week, some longtime subscribers were notified via email that their weekly cost will go up to $19.70 a week, but the email made no mention of the further planned price hikes.

A customer service representative at the Boston Globe’s subscription phone center told a Business Journal reporter Tuesday that the company is planning to increase its seven-day-a-week home delivery cost, after all discounts have expired, to $25.90 per week for subscribers in the Boston metro area. The representative said the increases will be phased in gradually, but didn’t say how long it would take.

Asked to confirm what the representative said, a Globe spokeswoman said, “We don't comment on specific subscription pricing.” However, the spokeswoman added that “producing, printing and distributing quality journalism faces rising costs. We are grateful to be part of a community where readers value what we do."

Such a price hike, which works out to $1,347 a year for daily delivery, would be more than an 80 percent hike from the current non-discounted cost. It would also be significantly more than the New York Times ($16.26 per week), the San Francisco Chronicle ($13.13 per week) and every other regional newspaper in the U.S.