The New York Times launched its Cooking app in 2014. The company also has NYT Now and NYT Opinion apps. Unlike those, the Cooking app is free and has a largely female and younger audience. The app also features recipes and videos from renowned chefs. Its audience is also larger than that of the Times’ typical demographic. Nonetheless, it remains free and useful for foodies of all ages. So, is it worth the $5/month subscription fee?
113 million users
Despite the fact that the NYT Cooking app is free, it is not free of advertisements. While its free version is ad-supported, the paid version includes videos and recommended sauces. In addition to video recipes, the app also includes guides for baking and slow-cooking. As of Q3 2020, the NYT Cooking app was visited by more than 113 million unique users and had 600,000 subscribers.
The NYT has launched an eight-week advertising campaign to drive awareness of its NYT Cooking section. Its new campaign will appear on television and digital platforms, including Instagram and Snapchat. The NYT is not the only one aiming to build a digital audience around food content. Tribune and Gannett both have “The Daily Meal” blogs. While the campaign has not identified any specific competitors, it aims to raise brand awareness and increase traffic to the website.
$5 a month
The New York Times has announced that it is turning its cooking website into a paid subscription service. The subscription will cost $5 every four weeks or US$65 per year. Users will still have access to the free version of the website, but will no longer be able to save recipes. This decision comes as a response to a decline in newspaper advertising revenue and a shift toward digital. However, the price hike is not a deal-breaker. The New York Times has a mixed record when it comes to charging for apps.
Although the company has been struggling with its print revenues, their digital revenues are increasing. While the New York Times’ print revenue fell 17.9% in the first quarter, digital subscriptions have increased. Adding a subscription service to NYT Cooking is the latest attempt to monetize its content. The site has more than 10 million monthly visitors and about a million newsletter subscribers. Subscribers will have access to curated collections of recipes, tips, and articles on how to cook them.
Paywall
A recent paywall at NYT Cooking has made the site difficult to use, but two tools allow for easy navigation through the paywall. Weekly newsletters offer teasers and redactions of featured recipes. And the site also uses social media to promote its content. It’s unclear how NYT Cooking plans to make money from its paywall. In the meantime, it’s worth noting that users must sign up to access paid content.
The NYT is changing its business model to encourage more paying subscribers. The newspaper’s Wirecutter site is a product recommendation site, and will soon go behind a paywall. However, those who already subscribe to The Times’ print and online publications will continue to receive unlimited access. This change will not affect the content in Wirecutter, but will make it harder to find interesting stories about food. The change isn’t a bad thing for NYT subscribers, who already pay $40 a year for access to the online magazine.
Moderation
There is a need for moderation in NYT cooking. The New York Times, which has long been notorious for its unhealthy recipes, has a group for its food-lovers. While it has no rules or set standards for its cooking groups, members should still be able to express their opinions and participate in discussion. This group should be moderated by informed members of the community. Its members are its lifeblood and should be able to contribute their own ideas and post regularly.
In a move to curb toxicity, the New York Times has closed down its Cooking Community Facebook group. The group is looking for volunteer moderators and will remove the New York Times’ branding from the private group. The goal is to select ten to twenty people to moderate the group. The move came down to practical staffing concerns, the Times said. The group had become a hotbed of debate and controversies.
New hires
The New York Times is hiring a full stack Senior Engineer for its popular NYT Cooking website. NYT Cooking is a food website that helps users discover world-class recipes. The team is made up of focused small groups and focuses on building great cooking experiences for its audience across a variety of platforms. This includes desktop, mobile, and web. Here are some of the highlights from the hiring process:
Genevieve McLaughlin – A senior editor for the Food department and author of several cookbooks, Genevieve McLaughlin joined the NYT Cooking team a year ago from the L.A. Times, where she led the recipe development team. With her deep kitchen knowledge and laid-back attitude, she emphasizes the soul-nourishing and deliciousness of food. New York Times Cooking will soon be a premier destination for cooking enthusiasts.
Growth
NYT Cooking, which launched six years ago, has been one of the Times’ fastest-growing vertical products, with more than four million subscribers. The product was created to add value to the paper’s core news content while expanding its product offering and diversifying its revenue stream. Since it’s launch, the NYT Cooking newsletter has experienced exponential growth: monthly uniques have increased by 66% in the past year. The Times’ staff has also taken the time to improve the site’s content and user experience.
NYT Cooking is expanding rapidly to serve its growing audience. With the expansion of the website, the number of food reporters will more than double. The move comes months after the company’s sister brand Bon Appetit’s Test Kitchen went through a tumultuous period. The company had become the most popular food-video brand among legacy media companies. Increasing the number of recipes is crucial to growth, but the team’s efforts must continue to attract a new audience.
