Reuters drops TV app fee, aims for wider audience

Reuters TV was launched in February as “news for the Netflix age”. It was billed as the world's first curated mobile TV news service designed for "on-the-go, globally-minded consumers who don't watch traditional TV news”. Reuters said it was aimed at “a growing segment of informed, mobile, and globally engaged consumers in their 30’s and 40’s who value authentic video storytelling and are too busy to watch traditional TV news”.

Free for the first 30 days, the monthly subscription fee was $1.99. Now it can be downloaded from smartphone app stores without charge.

Reuters TV was seen as an attempt to reinvigorate Reuters media division. But industry insiders said from the outset it was uncertain how many people were in its target audience and, more importantly, how many of them would pay $1.99 per month to watch Reuters’ videos.

"Today’s update simplifies Reuters TV’s design while making access free for all users, with limited advertising," a Reuters spokesperson said. "Subscribers will receive an ad-free experience. We’ve made this change so that we can reach a larger audience of urban, globally-minded young professionals.

“Reuters TV is a forward-thinking offering to reimagine video news for consumers. Our ambition is to create a new category of consumption that goes beyond TV and beyond the web - showcasing our vivid, authoritative and objective global journalism.

“We feel it’s important to continue to innovate and refine Reuters TV. As we engage with and listen to our customers, we expect to continue evolving our product and commercial thinking. We’re excited about these updates and continuing to advance our mission."

Editor-in-chief Stephen Adler said in an interview in March that the app was an attempt to break into an untapped revenue stream.

“We see mobile video direct-to-consumer as a growth area that nobody’s really tried it out that effectively,” he said. “I think we’re almost uniquely positioned to do it because we produce all of the video anyway for our television network customers.”

First versions of the app were built on a dual-revenue stream, coming from subscription revenue and from limited advertisements. Reuters did not release subscription numbers, but all of the app’s versions combined yielded fewer than 200 reviews. Digital news products often have difficulty attracting paid subscribers.

Content is produced by editorial teams in Hong Kong, London, New York and Washington. ■