The Washington Post has announced a partnership with Verizon to sell digital subscriptions through the telecom’s Plus-Play (+play) marketplace.
Starting Tuesday, Verizon customers can grab a three-month free trial to the Washington Post’s online and digital editions when they sign up through Plus-Play, the companies announced. Normally, a subscription to the Washington Post’s All Access tier costs $12 a month or $120 a year.
The partnership will see the Washingotn Post become the first newspaper to take advantage of Verizon’s Plus-Play subscription marketplace, which has offered access to Netflix, Disney Plus and other streaming video services since it launched last December.
“We are thrilled to partner with Verizon and tap into their deep network of subscribers who are eager to learn more about the world around them,” Michael Ribero, an executive in charge of the Washington Post’s subscription-based businesses, said in a statement on Tuesday. “The Post is known for its incredible breadth of journalism, with thoughtful analysis and coverage of news. This is an opportunity for Verizon customers to gain access to our deep library of content by top journalists.”
Around the time of Plus-Play’s launch, an article in the Wall Street Journal detailed how the Washington Post had seen a drop in digital subscriptions since the transition from former President Donald Trump to current U.S. President Joe Biden. The dip in subscribers appeared to correlate to an easing of political tensions in Washington and elsewhere following the end of the usually-chaotic Trump administration.
Sources told the Wall Street Journal that the Post was on track to bring in around $600 million in revenue by the end of last year, but was not expected to be profitable. It lost around 500,000 subscribers to end the year with just north of 2.5 million customer accounts, with most readers using the online version of the newspaper’s offerings.
The deal with Verizon could help generate new interest in the Washington Post, especially if buying a subscription through Plus-Play comes with long-term cost savings for customers or other benefits. Those have yet to be revealed, beyond the three-month extended free trial offer.
“Offering The Post to Verizon customers on Plus-Play is a major milestone for us, and shows the true scope of content we have available on Plus-Play,” Erin McPherson, the chief content officer at Verizon’s consumer group, said in a statement. “We want the services and savings on Plus-Play to reflect our customers’ wants and needs, and we know how critical having access to news is. We’re excited to have The Post join Plus-Play to give customers choices for news and look forward to what the partnership holds.”
Verizon Plus-Play is limited to Verizon wireless phone, wireless home Internet and Verizon Fios customers.
