How Le Monde Hacked the Subscription Model: 665,000 Subscribers, AI Deals, and Their Secret Sauce
▼ Summary
– Le Monde’s subscription success: Shifted from a free model to a subscription-based strategy, growing digital subscribers from 25,000 in 2015 to over 665,000, boosting revenue from €53M to €90M+.
– Editorial innovation: Launched the “Intimacy” section in 2023, focusing on human-centric topics, which attracts 3.5M monthly visits and drives high conversion rates.
– Strategic AI partnerships: Partnered with OpenAI and Perplexity under strict terms to protect content, using AI for translations and productivity without replacing journalism.
– Data-driven pricing, editorial instinct: Uses data for pricing and fraud detection but relies on human judgment for paywall decisions, balancing analytics with editorial integrity.
– Global and multimedia expansion: Investing in high-quality video, “Le Monde in English,” and bundled subscriptions to attract diverse audiences and reach 1M subscribers.
Remember when everyone said legacy newspapers were dead? French powerhouse Le Monde would like a word. In a world scrambling for clicks, they went the other way, building a digital fortress with over 665,000 paying subscribers. And they’re not stopping, with a bold target of 1 million.
How did they do it? In a must-listen episode of the PressPective’s Podcast, hosted by PressReader’s CEO Ruairi Doyle, Le Monde’s Chief Digital Operations Officer, Lou Grasser, pulled back the curtain on a masterclass in digital transformation. Forget what you think you know about old media. This is a story of radical reinvention, savvy tech plays, and the enduring power of quality journalism.
Here are the key takeaways from their incredible journey.
From Free-for-All to a €90M Subscription Machine
Le Monde’s transformation is staggering. In 2015, they had a mere 25,000 digital subscribers. Today, that number is over 665,000. This shift from a “free traffic-driven model” to a “subscription-based strategy” wasn’t just a new payment gate; it was a complete overhaul of their culture, tools, and mindset. The result? Revenue soared from €53 million to over €90 million, and the newsroom doubled in size. This wasn’t just survival; it was a power move.
Think You Know News? They’re Writing About “Intimacy”
Growth didn’t come from just putting up a paywall. Le Monde got creative and diversified. Their masterstroke? Launching an “Intimacy” section in 2023. Focusing on “how human people live” and topics like parenthood, it became a monster hit, pulling in 3.5 million visits a month and converting readers at an incredible rate.
Their future growth isn’t just about articles. They’re betting big on three key areas:
- High-Quality Video: Leveraging their 2 million+ YouTube subscribers with deep-dive investigative content.
- Global Reach: “Le Monde in English” is already a success, proving that a unique, rigorous perspective can cross borders.
- Smart Bundles: Partnering with brands like the streaming giant Max, offering combined deals to attract digital-native audiences who understand the value of a good subscription.
Without AI, Le Monde in English would have never come to reality.
Walking the AI Tightrope: Partnering with OpenAI & Perplexity
This is where it gets really interesting for the tech crowd. Le Monde isn’t afraid of AI; they’re actively shaping its future. Grasser revealed they were the first French media company to partner with both OpenAI and Perplexity.
But this isn’t a blind leap of faith. Grasser’s most important word on the subject is “protected.”
- With OpenAI: Their content can be used to train models, but only under strict contractual terms that safeguard their intellectual property.
- With Perplexity: Their content is never used for model training. It’s only accessed to provide sourced, synthesized answers to user queries, driving traffic back to Le Monde’s original articles.
We do not use generative AI to create editorial content
Internally, AI is a “powerful tool to support our teams but never to replace journalism.” It’s the engine behind their English translations and a major productivity booster for everything from customer service to data analysis.
The Secret Sauce: Data-Driven Prices, Instinct-Driven Journalism
So, what’s the magic formula? Grasser explained a fascinating dual approach:
- Business Decisions = Pure Data: When it comes to pricing, “instinct” is the enemy. They use data experts to implement smart price segmentation, fraud detection, and plan optimization. The mantra: “charging more to those who can and offering smart alternatives to those who can’t.”
- Editorial Decisions = Pure Instinct: What gets paywalled? That’s not up to an algorithm. It’s a decision made by newsroom leaders based on “editorial judgment.” Grasser calls it their “secret source.” It’s a powerful reminder that while data is essential, journalism remains a “deeply human craft.”
What We Can Learn from Le Monde
Le Monde’s story is an inspiring success story for a newspaper; it’s a blueprint for any digital business. It proves that a relentless focus on quality, a deep understanding of your audience, and a proactive-yet-cautious approach to new technology is the winning formula. By building direct relationships with their readers, they’ve insulated themselves from the whims of platform algorithms and created a sustainable model for the future.
Your move, rest of the internet.
Questions and Answers
How has Le Monde transformed its business model, and what have been the key results?
Le Monde has undergone a significant transformation from a free, traffic-driven model to a subscription-based strategy since 2015. This involved reinventing everything from workflows and tools to team culture and marketing practices. Despite the deep roots in print, Le Monde has successfully evolved, growing its digital subscriber base from 225,000 in 2015 to over 665,000 today, with 90% being digital-only subscribers. Revenue has also increased from 53 million euros to over 90 million euros. This evolution is characterized by a commitment to deep and steady innovation without losing sight of its core identity.
What is Le Monde’s strategy for achieving 1 million subscribers, and what role does editorial diversification play?
Le Monde has set an ambitious goal of 1 million subscribers, currently standing at around 665,000, with 90% being digital-only. To reach the remaining 300,000, the primary strategy is continued investment in editorial diversification. The newsroom has doubled in size since 2010, expanding into new areas such as personal stories, women’s rights, climate change, and identity. A standout example is the “Intimacy” section, launched in 2023, which focuses on human lives and parenting, becoming one of their top-performing sections in both traffic and conversion. Video content, particularly high-quality investigative formats, and international growth (e.g., Le Monde in English) are also significant growth levers. The company is also exploring bundled offers, both within the Le Monde group and with external partners.
How does Le Monde approach “Live” journalism, and what is its impact?
Le Monde’s “Live” format, launched in 2011 during major breaking news events, is described as a mix of newsroom, group chat, and real-time editorial space. It is designed to cover fast-moving stories while maintaining Le Monde’s high editorial standards. Each live session is led by a dedicated editor, with contributions from multiple desks via a custom real-time publishing interface. A key user experience feature is that any reader, subscriber or not, can submit questions, fostering engagement. The impact is significant, with “Live” content making up over 25% of total traffic during peak news days, sometimes reaching 30-40%. It serves as a format for immediate information and also acts as an acquisition channel by subtly encouraging non-subscribers to support Le Monde’s journalistic efforts.
What is Le Monde’s strategy for international expansion, particularly with Le Monde in English?
Le Monde launched “Le Monde in English” in 2022, translating 40% of its daily articles. This initiative is a learning experience in building meaningful content for an international audience, recognizing that global readers have different habits and expectations. The approach involves adapting pricing, accepting international payments, building English customer service, and curating/contextualizing content rather than just translating it. What sets Le Monde in English apart is its distinctive voice – a European perspective on world affairs, supported by deep, fact-based reporting. The goal is not to compete with major English-language brands but to offer something complementary, rigorous, and true to Le Monde’s identity. Further expansion includes “M international,” a bi-annual magazine and bi-weekly newsletter with a digital presence on Instagram.
How does Le Monde balance data-driven decisions with editorial judgment and human instinct?
While digital operations at Le Monde are largely data-driven, especially for areas like pricing strategy where instinct is actively avoided due to potential bias, editorial decisions maintain a significant human element. For instance, the newsroom leaders manually decide which articles go behind the paywall, based on editorial judgment and context, not algorithms. Qualitative feedback, particularly from customer service and daily unsubscription reasons, is also crucial for understanding reader needs and evolving the product. The overall balance at Le Monde is characterized by a combination of data-driven digital strategy and instinct-led editorial choices, recognizing that journalism remains a deeply human craft.
What are some key lessons learned from Le Monde’s pricing strategy?
Le Monde has extensively experimented with its pricing strategy, leading to three surprising lessons. First, price segmentation (e.g., offers for students, families, geo-based pricing) significantly impacts average revenue per user, demonstrating the importance of tailored offers. Second, an internal fraud detection system that prevents account sharing, similar to Spotify’s, was a game-changer for protecting revenue. Third, heavily discounted annual plans were found to be at risk of cannibalization, as highly engaged users were choosing overly cheap annual offers compared to what they would have paid monthly, leading to adjustments. Le Monde strongly advises seeking expert help for pricing strategy due to its complexity and the need for a long-term, counter-intuitive vision that external data analysts can provide.
What are Le Monde’s key takeaways for other publishers in the current media landscape?
Le Monde identifies three critical areas for publishers to focus on. First, publishers must rethink audience acquisition and retention to avoid over-reliance on external platforms. This means doubling down on direct relationships through newsletters, apps, and on-site habits. Second, content protection is paramount, especially with the rise of AI models. Publishers need to act swiftly, both technically and collectively, to safeguard the value of their journalistic work from uncontrolled reuse. Third, “embodiment” is crucial for reaching younger audiences. This involves presenting journalists in more direct and relatable ways on video and social platforms, fostering trust in individuals while maintaining editorial identity and values.
