ConsumerReports.org Reaches One Million Paid Subscribers

Posted on October 23, 2002

ConsumerReports.org has exceeded one million active paid subscribers, making it the largest publication-based subscription site on the Web. ConsumerReports.org has been continually growing its subscription base since its launch in November of 1997. An annual subscription to ConsumerReports.org costs $24 per year. Current subscribers to the magazine can join for $19 per year. ConsumerReports.org is the website of Consumers Union, an independent, nonprofit testing and information-gathering organization.

Jim Guest, president of Consumers Union (CU), the independent, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, says in a statement, ""I'd like to say thank you to all of our subscribers who've helped make ConsumerReports.org one of the most successful subscription sites on the Internet. Each subscriber is truly one in a million."

ConsumerReports.org realized the potential of the Web early on and became one of the first websites to charge consumers for its content. In addition to ConsumerReports.org, a few niche B2B sites primarily occupied the paid content space in the late 90s. In the dot-com heyday, this dot-org's early pay-for-access status was a radical departure from the popular ad-supported business strategy. However, that model was never considered by CU, which has never accepted advertising in any of its publications.

"When we started ConsumerReports.org five years ago as an independent, paid subscription site, we were pioneers," said Joel Gurin, CU's Executive Vice President. "We built the site with the same goal we've had since we were founded in 1936 -- to give consumers useful, trustworthy information. We don't take advertising, and we're not beholden to any outside interests; our only obligation is to help consumers. By reaching one million paid online subscribers, our site has proven that people will pay for truly unbiased, expert content. They know they can trust Consumer Reports; it provides value that's relevant to their lives," he added.

Since the dot-com bust, many sites have gravitated toward charging a fee for proprietary content, once offered for free. According to a report by Jupiter Research, several players in the following Web categories have moved to a paid-content business model: mail, online storage, gaming, streaming media, greeting cards, audio broadcast of sport events and, increasingly, news and financial information. Most websites seeking customers to pay for content are finding lots of resistance -- with only a small percentage of website visitors willing to become paying customers. A recent study showed that many of the top content sites were selling services such as personal ads or database access. People have been much more reluctant to pay for written content such as articles and news.

"We cut through the clutter of product claims in the marketplace to help people make better decisions. We help people save money and avoid aggravation," said John Sateja, CU's Vice President of Multimedia Publishing. "As a new-media venture of a strong, established publisher, ConsumerReports.org has also spurred innovation and growth in the service that CU provides. We now test and provide information about more products and services than we did five years ago, and we keep our information more current with the marketplace."



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