E-paper subscriptions are 30 percent cheaper on average
In 2015, some newspaper subscriptions cost up to 40 francs more than last year. Nevertheless, the subscription increases were somewhat more moderate this time around than they were a year ago. In addition, two publishers even lowered their subscription prices, which is probably unprecedented. In the digital sector, however, publishers are still searching for an appropriate price. But digital subscriptions that cost 50 percent less than a print subscription are becoming less common.
Let's start with the scoop: the print subscription to Südostschweiz Glarus, Gaster, See now costs just CHF 339 per year instead of CHF 349 - CHF 10 or 3 percent less than before. The 7-day subscription to Schweiz am Sonntag has even been reduced by 50 francs to 349 francs. The Swiss Confederation also reduced one of its subscription prices: The e-paper subscription fell by 5% or 19 francs to 369 francs - this in connection with the introduction of the new payment barrier last fall. But these are effectively exceptions - even in a long-term comparison. And they cannot conceal the fact that the industry trend is running in exactly the opposite direction: The 50 Swiss daily newspapers surveyed here struck again this year: An average newspaper subscription now costs CHF 396, 3% more than last year. However, prices in French-speaking Switzerland are significantly higher than this level for Switzerland as a whole, where the average annual subscription costs CHF 429. The surcharges were only half as high. Subscription prices also rose for the eleven Sunday newspapers, by an average of 2.5%: a 7-day subscription therefore currently costs CHF 451. This upward trend can also be seen in the digital sector, but more on that later.
Up to 50 centimes more expensive at the kiosk
Of the around 100 titles and subscription combinations surveyed here, three quarters are charging more for a subscription this year than in 2014. With an increase of 11% for print subscriptions, Zürcher Unterländer is charging its readers the highest premium, followed by Blick, which is adding 9% or CHF 30, as well as SonntagsBlick, SonntagsZeitung (SoZ), Terre et Nature and the combined subscription of Der Bund and SoZ, which are each adding 8%. In absolute figures, the latter subscription combination will see the biggest price jump (+40 francs), followed by the Zürcher Unterländer (+39 francs) and the NZZ and NZZ am Sonntag subscription combination, which together will be 34 francs more expensive. Conversely, the smallest price increase is for Zentralschweiz am Sonntag, which is only going up by 2 francs or 1%.
The most expensive print subscription for a single title is still that of Agéfi (CHF 700), but the NZZ (CHF 675) is catching up. The most expensive combination is that of NZZ and NZZ am Sonntag, which now costs CHF 793. Publishers are much more cautious when it comes to individual sales prices: only a third of the daily newspapers and just two of the weekly titles raised their prices - by an average of 3%. In absolute figures, the increases amount to 10 to 50 centimes. The cheapest newspaper is the Bote der Urschweiz (CHF 1.80), followed by La Quotidiana (CHF 1.90). The most expensive daily newspaper at the kiosk is the Saturday NZZ, which now costs CHF 4.90, followed by the Saturday Bund at CHF 4.60 and L'Agéfi and the Saturday Tages-Anzeiger at CHF 4.50 each. The most expensive weekly newspaper is TagesWoche at CHF 6, closely followed by Finanz und Wirtschaft at CHF 5.90.
E-paper up to 54 percent cheaper
Digital subscriptions are generally significantly cheaper than print subscriptions, as paper and distribution costs are eliminated. Across Switzerland as a whole, the difference for daily newspapers is 30%, in French-speaking Switzerland even 35%. Blick and Zürichsee-Zeitung currently have the biggest price differences: Their e-paper subscriptions are respectively 54% and 50.5% cheaper than the print subscription. A further nine titles offer digital users a discount of between 43 and 46%. Among the weekly titles, SonntagsBlick (-54%) and Le Matin Dimanche (-49%) are at the top of the list. But there are also the opposite - titles that do not offer digital users any discount at all. Take Agéfi, for example. "Regardless of which channel subscribers use to read our content, the latter always costs the same," says the publisher. The same applies to Höfner Volksblatt, March-Anzeiger, Volksstimme, Bote der Urschweiz and Liechtensteiner Volksblatt. One thing is also clearly visible: extremely large differences between print and e-paper subscriptions are becoming rarer. More and more publishers are giving up their bait-and-switch offers and demanding more money from online users. For example, e-paper subscriptions to daily newspapers have increased by an average of 5%, i.e. more than print subscriptions. Such a subscription now costs an average of CHF 280. In this subscription category, the prices in French-speaking Switzerland are almost identical at CHF 281, although the publishers in French-speaking Switzerland increased their prices more sharply by CHF 8% - above all 24 Heures and Tribune de Genève, which raised their rates by CHF 26% (+59 francs) - in order to reduce the price difference between print and e-paper from the previous CHF 48% to the new CHF 38%. The Zürcher Unterländer (+17% or CHF 31) and Le Courrier (+16% or CHF 20) have also seen significant increases. The weekly title Terre et Nature is also one of the frontrunners in terms of reducing the difference, increasing its e-paper subscription by 45% or CHF 49, halving the price difference from the previous 40% to 22%.
127 francs more expensive since 2011
Digital subscriptions now cost the same as e-paper subscriptions for most publishers. But there are still some exotic publishers that handle this differently: The most interesting example is Le Temps, where the e-paper subscription costs CHF 350, while two digital subscriptions are also offered, one for CHF 324 and the other for CHF 396. The digital subscription to SonntagsBlick also costs almost 20 francs more than the e-paper subscription, while Zürcher Unterländer and Volksstimme offer it for around 30 francs less, Blick for around 75% less and La Regione and Basler Zeitung offer free access. Finally, let's take a look at the development of subscription prices over the last five years: From 2011, we have the print subscription rates of 49 of the titles and subscription combinations listed here. The average subscription to a daily newspaper cost CHF 362 back then, CHF 34 or 9% less than today. All titles except Agéfi have increased their prices since then, ranging from 2.8% (Le Quotidien Jurassien) to 28.1% (NZZ am Sonntag). In absolute terms, however, the highest increase was made by the NZZ, which now costs CHF 127 more than in 2011. In second place is the Tages-Anzeiger, which has become exactly CHF 100 more expensive. In third place is the Bund, which has added 75 francs. For comparison, let's take a look at French-speaking Switzerland: Le Temps only increased its subscription by 10% or 48 francs.
Markus Knöpfli
The tables can be found in the PDF of the article.
