Paid content in media - statistics & facts

The increasing proliferation of online news outlets has led to massive changes within the media industry. Paid circulation of daily print newspapers has halved since 1985, as digitization has begun to drastically change the way that media companies do business. Evolving consumer demands mean that even the most well-established publications are being pushed to adopt a web-based strategy or be forced out of the market.

Total digital publishing revenue worldwide
****bn USD

Digital newspaper circulation growth in the U.S.
**%

Share of digital newspaper ad revenue in the U.S.
**%

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Editor’s Picks
Current statistics on this topic

News Consumption

Digital news purchases worldwide 2025

Newspapers & Magazines

Online subscriptions to news websites worldwide 2023-2025

Newspapers & Magazines

Magazines with largest mobile audience in the U.S. 2021

Global overview

Forecast of ePublishing revenue by segment in the World 2019-2027
Forecast of ePublishing revenue by segment in the World 2019-2027
Forecast of ePublishing revenue by segment in the World from 2019 to 2027 (in million U.S. dollar)
Worldwide digital newspaper circulation revenue 2012-2018
Worldwide digital newspaper circulation revenue 2012-2018
Digital newspaper circulation revenue worldwide from 2012 to 2018 (in million U.S. dollars)
Global digital newspaper advertising revenue 2013-2017
Global digital newspaper advertising revenue 2013-2017
Digital newspaper advertising revenue worldwide from 2013 to 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)
Forecast ePublishing users by segment in the World 2019-2027
Forecast ePublishing users by segment in the World 2019-2027
Forecast ePublishing users by segment in the World from 2019 to 2027 (in million)
Digital Market Outlook: e-publishing revenue in selected countries 2023
Digital Market Outlook: e-publishing revenue in selected countries 2023
Digital publishing revenue in selected countries worldwide in 2023 (in million U.S. dollars)
Digital news purchases worldwide 2025
Digital news purchases worldwide 2025
Share of consumers who paid for online news content in selected countries worldwide in the last year in 2024 and 2025
Frequency of paying for online digital video worldwide 2017
Frequency of paying for online digital video worldwide 2017
Share of adults who paid for online digital video in the last year in selected countries worldwide as of February 2017
Frequency of paying for online digital audio worldwide 2017
Frequency of paying for online digital audio worldwide 2017
Share of adults who paid for online digital audio in the last year in selected countries worldwide as of February 2017

U.S. overview

Forecast of ePublishing revenue by segment in the United States 2019-2027
Forecast of ePublishing revenue by segment in the United States 2019-2027
Forecast of ePublishing revenue by segment in the United States from 2019 to 2027 (in million U.S. dollar)
U.S. newspaper publishing revenue 2010-2021, by media type
U.S. newspaper publishing revenue 2010-2021, by media type
Newspaper publishing revenue in the United States from 2010 to 2021, by media type (in million U.S. dollars)
U.S. periodical publishing revenue 2010-2021, by media type
U.S. periodical publishing revenue 2010-2021, by media type
Periodical publishing revenue in the United States from 2010 to 2021, by media type (in million U.S. dollars)
Paid circulation of daily weekday newspapers in the U.S. 1985-2020
Paid circulation of daily weekday newspapers in the U.S. 1985-2020
Paid circulation of daily weekday newspapers in the United States from 1985 to 2020 (in 1,000s)
Paid circulation of Sunday newspapers in the U.S. 2000-2020
Paid circulation of Sunday newspapers in the U.S. 2000-2020
Paid circulation of Sunday newspapers in the United States from 2000 to 2020 (in 1,000s)
African American daily newspaper circulation in the U.S. 2014-2022
African American daily newspaper circulation in the U.S. 2014-2022
African American newspapers average paid circulation in the United States from 2014 to 2022
Popular publication types among newspaper subscribers in the U.S. 2017
Popular publication types among newspaper subscribers in the U.S. 2017
Most popular types of publication among newspaper subscribers in the United States as of March 2017
Magazines with largest audience in the U.S. 2019
Magazines with largest audience in the U.S. 2019
Reach of popular magazines in the United States in June 2019 (in millions)
Magazines with largest mobile audience in the U.S. 2021
Magazines with largest mobile audience in the U.S. 2021
Number of unique mobile visitors to websites of select U.S. magazines brands as of March 2021 (in millions)
Potential customers of paid online editorial content in the U.S. 2017, by type
Potential customers of paid online editorial content in the U.S. 2017, by type
Most popular types of online editorial content for potential paying customers in the United States as of 3rd quarter 2017
Frequency of reading digital newspapers by U.S. consumers 2017
Frequency of reading digital newspapers by U.S. consumers 2017
Frequency of reading online newspapers among consumers in the United States as of May 2017

Canadian overview

Number of newspapers with paywalls in Canada 2012-2016
Number of newspapers with paywalls in Canada 2012-2016
Number of newspapers with paywalls or metered access in Canada from 2012 to 2016
Canada total community newspaper circulation 2013-2022, by type
Canada total community newspaper circulation 2013-2022, by type
Total community newspaper circulation in Canada from 2013 to 2022, by type (in 1,000s)
Canada: circulation of paid community newspapers 2013-2022, by province and territory
Canada: circulation of paid community newspapers 2013-2022, by province and territory
Circulation of paid community newspapers in Canada from 2013 to 2022, by province and territory (in 1,000s)
Canada: leading ways to access magazine content 2017
Canada: leading ways to access magazine content 2017
Leading methods for accessing magazine content among readers and buyers in Canada as of July 2017
Canada: leading ways to access paid magazine content 2017
Canada: leading ways to access paid magazine content 2017
Leading methods for accessing paid magazine content among readers and buyers in Canada as of July 2017

Digital subscriptions

Online subscriptions to news websites worldwide 2023-2025
Online subscriptions to news websites worldwide 2023-2025
Leading English-language news websites worldwide from March 2023 to February 2025, by number of digital-only subscriptions (in 1,000s)
Digital-only newspaper subscriber share worldwide 2017
Digital-only newspaper subscriber share worldwide 2017
Share of subscribers that are solely digital for selected newspapers worldwide as of October 2017
Average weekly costs of online newspaper subscriptions U.S. 2017
Average weekly costs of online newspaper subscriptions U.S. 2017
Average weekly prices of digital newspaper subscriptions in the United States as of October 2017 (in U.S. dollars)
Consumers with a newspaper or magazine subscriptions in the U.S. 2017, by age group
Consumers with a newspaper or magazine subscriptions in the U.S. 2017, by age group
Share of consumers with an active newspaper or magazine subscription in the United States as of February 2017, by age group
New York Times Company: digital news subscribers Q1 2014-Q1 2023
New York Times Company: digital news subscribers Q1 2014-Q1 2023
Number of paid subscribers to New York Times Company's digital only news product from 1st quarter 2014 to 1st quarter 2023 (in 1,000s)
Newspaper/magazine subscription payment method in the U.S. 2017, by age group
Newspaper/magazine subscription payment method in the U.S. 2017, by age group
Payment method for newspaper or magazine subscriptions in the United States as of February 2017, by age group
Likelihood of continuing newspaper subscription in the U.S. 2017, by age group
Likelihood of continuing newspaper subscription in the U.S. 2017, by age group
Likelihood to continue newspaper or magazine subscriptions in the United States as of February 2017, by age group
Consumption of paid online news content in the U.S. 2017-2019, by topic
Consumption of paid online news content in the U.S. 2017-2019, by topic
Most popular topics for paid online editorial news content in the United States in the 3rd quarter 2017 and 4th quarter of 2019

Audiences

U.S. magazine audience 2015-2019 by platform
U.S. magazine audience 2015-2019 by platform
Distribution of magazine media audiences in the United States from January 2015 to June 2019, by platform
Forecast ePublishing users by segment in the United States 2019-2027
Forecast ePublishing users by segment in the United States 2019-2027
Forecast ePublishing users by segment in the United States from 2019 to 2027 (in million)
Digital Market Outlook: readers of e-publishing formats in the U.S. 2017-2027
Digital Market Outlook: readers of e-publishing formats in the U.S. 2017-2027
Number of digital publishing product users in the United States from 2017 to 2027, by format (in millions)
Consumption of paid online editorial content in the U.S. 2017-2019, by gender
Consumption of paid online editorial content in the U.S. 2017-2019, by gender
Share of consumers who pay for online editorial content in the United States in the 3rd quarter 2017 and 4th quarter of 2019, by gender
Consumption of paid online editorial content in the U.S. 2017, by age
Consumption of paid online editorial content in the U.S. 2017, by age
Share of consumers who pay for online editorial content in the United States as of 3rd quarter 2017, by age
U.S. internet magazine audience 2015-2019
U.S. internet magazine audience 2015-2019
Share of web audience among total magazine media audience in the United States from January 2015 to June 2019
U.S. mobile web magazine audience 2015-2019
U.S. mobile web magazine audience 2015-2019
Share of mobile web audience among total magazine media audience in the United States from January 2015 to June 2019

Consumer preferences & behavior

Devices used for reading online news in the U.S. 2013-2022
Devices used for reading online news in the U.S. 2013-2022
Devices used for reading online news in the United States from 2013 to 2022
Digital news purchases worldwide 2025
Digital news purchases worldwide 2025
Share of consumers who paid for online news content in selected countries worldwide in the last year in 2024 and 2025
Digital/print news subscriptions in the U.S. in 2017, by length
Digital/print news subscriptions in the U.S. in 2017, by length
Share of consumers who pay for digital/print news subscriptions in the United States as of March 2017, by subscription length
Frequency of reading digital newspapers by U.S. consumers 2017, by gender
Frequency of reading digital newspapers by U.S. consumers 2017, by gender
Frequency of reading digital newspapers by consumers in the United States as of May 2017, by gender
Frequency of reading digital newspapers by U.S. consumers 2017, by age group
Frequency of reading digital newspapers by U.S. consumers 2017, by age group
Frequency of reading digital newspapers by consumers in the United States as of May 2017, by age group
Frequency of reading digital magazines by U.S. consumers 2017, by gender
Frequency of reading digital magazines by U.S. consumers 2017, by gender
Frequency of reading digital magazines by consumers in the United States as of May 2017, by gender
Frequency of reading digital magazines by U.S. consumers 2017, by age group
Frequency of reading digital magazines by U.S. consumers 2017, by age group
Frequency of reading digital magazines by consumers in the United States as of May 2017, by age group

Total digital publishing revenue worldwide
****bn USD

Digital newspaper circulation growth in the U.S.
**%

Share of digital newspaper ad revenue in the U.S.
**%

Key figures

The most important key figures provide you with a compact summary of the topic of "Paid content in media" and take you straight to the corresponding statistics.

- Total digital publishing revenue in the United States
- ****bn USD
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Detailed statistics
Forecast of ePublishing revenue by segment in the United States 2019-2027
- Paid circulation of daily newspapers in the United States
- 24.29m
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Detailed statistics
Paid circulation of daily weekday newspapers in the U.S. 1985-2020
- Magazine website with the highest number of unique mobile visitors in the United States
- People
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Detailed statistics
Magazines with largest mobile audience in the U.S. 2021
- Magazine with the highest reach in the United States
- ESPN The Magazine
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Detailed statistics
Magazines with largest audience in the U.S. 2019

- Number of Canadian newspapers with paywalls or metered access
- **
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Detailed statistics
Number of newspapers with paywalls in Canada 2012-2016
- Total community newspaper circulation in Canada
- 13.84m
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Detailed statistics
Canada total community newspaper circulation 2013-2022, by type
- Percentage of Canadian readers who only access paid magazine content
- **%
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Detailed statistics
Canada: leading ways to access magazine content 2017

- Newspaper with the highest amount of digital-only subscribers worldwide
- The New York Times
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Detailed statistics
Online subscriptions to news websites worldwide 2023-2025
- Percentage of U.S. digital newspaper subscriptions that cost between $2 and $2.99 per week
- 30%
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Detailed statistics
Average weekly costs of online newspaper subscriptions U.S. 2017
- Share of U.S. consumers with an active newspaper or magazine subscription
- 41%
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Detailed statistics
Consumers with a newspaper or magazine subscriptions in the U.S. 2017, by age group
- Share of U.S. consumers who intend to continue their newspaper or magazine subscription
- 89%
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Detailed statistics
Likelihood of continuing newspaper subscription in the U.S. 2017, by age group

- Share of magazine audience who access content using mobile web in the U.S.
- **%
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Detailed statistics
U.S. magazine audience 2015-2019 by platform
- Share of U.S. women who pay for online editorial content
- *%
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Detailed statistics
Consumption of paid online editorial content in the U.S. 2017-2019, by gender
- Total number of e-Magazine users in the U.S.
- ****m
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Detailed statistics
Digital Market Outlook: readers of e-publishing formats in the U.S. 2017-2027

- Percentage of people who use their smartphone to access news in the U.S.
- **
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Detailed statistics
Devices used for reading online news in the U.S. 2013-2022
- Share of U.S. males who never read digital magazines
- **%
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Detailed statistics
Frequency of reading digital magazines by U.S. consumers 2017, by gender
- Share of U.S. consumers who have paid for print news subscriptions for 5+ years
- **%
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Detailed statistics
Digital/print news subscriptions in the U.S. in 2017, by length

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Paid content in U.S. print and digital media

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Paid content in media - statistics & facts

Key insights

Editor’s Picks Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Recommended statistics

Global overview

Global overview

U.S. overview

U.S. overview

Canadian overview

Canadian overview

Digital subscriptions

Digital subscriptions

Audiences

Audiences

Consumer preferences & behavior

Consumer preferences & behavior

Further reports

Get the best reports to understand your industry

Get in touch with us for additional information

Editor’s Picks
Editor’s Picks
Current statistics on this topic