The Irish Times has been selected, along with seven European publishers to participate in the Google News Initiative Subscriptions Academy 2022.
Google, the International News Media Association (INMA), and FT Strategies last month launched the third edition of the Google News Initiative (GNI) Subscriptions Academy for Europe (previously Subscriptions Lab), an ambitious and intensive eight-month programme that will address every step of the digital subscriptions process, from discovery to conversion to retention.
The programme is designed to strengthen and accelerate growth of the subscription businesses and help publishers deliver customised plans such as optimising the sales funnel and developing new monetisation strategies. Building on the success of last year’s edition, the 2022 programme attracted applicants from publishers in 22 European countries.
Apart from the Irish Times, news publishers in Poland, Switzerland, Germany, Croatia, Portugal, and Italy were also chosen to take part in the Subscriptions Academy.
The selection panel focused on ensuring that the final cohort of eight publishers represented a broad cross-section of the industry: a mix of local, regional, and national focus; a range of sizes of publisher; and participants at different stages of their subscriptions journey. This exciting cohort of publishers helps to spread the Academy’s benefits across the European publishing landscape.
According to Clíona Mooney, subscriptions and reader insights director: “The Irish Times team is delighted to have been selected as one of eight European publishers on the Google News Initiative Subscriptions Academy. It’s 7 years since we were the first daily news publisher in Ireland to launch a digital subscriptions model and accelerating growth is a key priority for us and fundamental to our revenue strategy. Our goal is to create a sustainable future that allows us to provide our readers with a best-in-class news service. The rigour and innovation which the GNI Subscriptions Academy will deliver with The Irish Times team will contribute enormously to the next phase in our growth and development.”
Sulina Connal, director, news and publishing partnerships, EMEA, Google adds: “We are committed to supporting the future of news publishing and are so pleased to be extending our partnership with FT Strategies and INMA to bring you the third round of GNI Subscriptions Academy for Europe. The programme will enable participating publishers to learn the mechanisms to strengthen their digital subscriptions capabilities and grow reader revenue.”
