Welcome to the age of super bundling

Last week Axios reported that The New York Times has been exploring subscription partnerships with other American publishers, as it has done with international publishers. The initial talks with The Ankler, which covers the entertainment industry, haven’t come to anything but it is clear that the publisher is keen to build its bundle even further.

Its latest quarterly earnings report revealed that nearly half (46%) of the NYT’s 11m subscribers are signed up to their bundle or multiple products from their suite of news, games, cooking, Wirecutter and The Athletic.

At the same time, the other giant of American publishing, Dow Jones, is also heavily promoting its own bundle. Alongside its flagship Wall Street Journal, it has added Barron’s, MarketWatch and Investor’s Business Daily to its WSJ Plus offering.

We have entered the age of the super bundle.

These bundles – inspired by pay TV packages – have be seen to work well, and I’ll share some successful examples in this article. But super bundles are not without pitfalls and require some heavy lifting to deliver the seamless customer experience that subscribers expect.

The appeal of super bundling isn’t new. Back in 2023, research from Bango, the subscription software provider, revealed that 81% of subscription leaders had them on their road map.

The motivation for launching them is no secret: many traditional publishers face stiff headwinds. Mordor Intelligence forecasts the global newspaper sector could slip in size from $82.17 billion in 2025 to $76.85 billion by 2030.

If there is an upside to be found from these sobering numbers it is that they light a fire under the industry to innovate. This is where super bundling comes into play.

By offering subscribers a broader suite of benefits, publishers can hook new audiences and keep existing ones engaged. If you launch a super bundle, you’ll be in good company. Here are just a few successful examples:

The New York Times (US) Moved well beyond news to incorporate cooking guides, crossword puzzles, games and The Athletic, creating a multifaceted hub of services for subscribers.

El País (Spain) Merged its digital news subscription with lifestyle content and exclusive events, positioning itself as part of readers’ everyday lives.

Corriere della Sera (Italy) Offers a comprehensive digital package incorporating historic archives, premium magazines and in-depth reporting, giving readers multiple reasons to stay subscribed.

Politiken (Denmark) Ties cultural offerings and community perks to its news service, making the subscription feel more like joining a cultural club.

Expressen (Sweden) Allows subscribers to this national publication to combine it with their local newspaper subscription.

Roularta (Belgium) Magazine publisher has offered subscriptions that combine its lifestyle magazines with those covering politics and business.

Of course, none of this is easy. When discussing bundling strategies with clients, the most frequently mentioned hurdle is the complexity of managing multiple partnerships or product lines. Technical integration also poses significant challenges: ensuring that everything from payment to user experience works smoothly under one umbrella can require substantial investment.

However, these hurdles aren’t insurmountable. The key is thoughtful planning, a willingness to innovate and the right technical and strategic guidance.

If you’re thinking about venturing into the world of super bundling, here are a few foundational steps we suggest you follow:

Partner selection

Choosing the right partners is crucial. The goal is to add meaningful value for your audience without diluting your own brand identity.

Some publishers have found that teaming up with cultural institutions (museums, theatres, galleries) can convert casual readers into paying subscribers.

In the US, The New York Times famously bought Wirecutter, the product review website, and The Athletic, the specialist sports site, to add to its offering. This synergy was not only brand-appropriate but also gave subscribers multiple touchpoints to engage with NYT content throughout the day.

Use audience research to pinpoint which partners resonate with your demographics. Look for shared brand values and a complementary audience profile, so that all partners benefit from each other’s customer base without compromising editorial or brand standards.

Technical infrastructure

Reliable technology underpins any bundling model – if subscribers struggle to activate or manage their various services, they’ll quickly opt out. We’ve found that publishers that have invested in subscription management platforms (eg Zuora, Recurly, Piano etc) report lower churn rates, simply because their well-executed experience keeps user annoyance at bay.

Remember that the No 1 frustration of subscription customers, revealed in multiple studies, is when they have difficulty accessing the content they have paid for.

Corriere della Sera in Italy has begun integrating its legacy systems to streamline billing for its various digital offerings — news archives, premium magazines and so on — making it far easier for subscribers to manage all services through a single account.

Aim for a robust, centralised backend that automates subscriber management. Users should be able to upgrade, pause or cancel their bundle on one unified interface. This efficiency fosters trust and makes it more likely they’ll stay subscribed.

User experience

When someone signs up for a bundle, they’re expecting a coherent experience. Confusion at any stage — whether during sign-up or while accessing premium features — can lead to cancellations. Even things like consistent branding (fonts, logos, colour palettes) across partner platforms can reduce customer service queries because subscribers feel confident and know they’re in the right place.

For example, Denmark’s Politiken weaves its editorial tone into every aspect of its bundled services, from cultural event access to community benefits, ensuring the brand experience remains uniform.

We recommend conducting frequent user testing to ensure each element of the bundle delivers a unified experience. Be sure to unify login systems and create a single dashboard so super bundle subscribers can see everything for which they’ve signed up in one place.

Value proposition

Bundles succeed or fail on the perceived value to the consumer. If the offering feels like random extras that a subscriber doesn’t really need, they won’t be compelled to pay more — or stay.

Combining core news or magazine content with relevant lifestyle segments — health apps, recipe collections, e-learning courses — can produce a noticeable uplift in average revenue per user (ARPU).

When mapping out your bundle, be ruthless in evaluating whether each component is genuinely useful to your target audience. If it’s not, it may only dilute the perceived value — and confuse the marketing message. Resist the temptation to “throw something in” just because it’s available.

Data management

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Carefully tracking how subscribers interact with each component of the bundle is crucial for optimising and iterating on the offering.

Publishers implementing robust analytics gain deeper insights into user preferences, such as which elements of the bundle drive the most traffic or trigger the highest engagement.

Monitor subscription lifecycle metrics — from acquisition to churn — to identify which bundle elements drive engagement and which struggle. Continual data-driven adjustments will keep your bundle relevant and profitable.

Pricing strategy

Too high a price and you’ll scare potential subscribers away; too low and you undermine long-term sustainability.

Tiered bundle options — a basic plan for cost-conscious readers and a premium one with high-value services — can reduce price sensitivity by offering subscribers a clear choice.

Corriere della Sera provides multiple subscription tiers, from digital-only to comprehensive bundles, thereby catering to different audience segments.

Experiment with introductory offers, bundles with different levels of access, and time-limited promotions. The right pricing strategy isn’t static — it’s a constant balancing act between user demand, partner payouts (where applicable) and your revenue goals.

Clearly, super bundling isn’t just about throwing a few products together; it’s a strategic endeavour that requires careful planning, robust technology and ongoing refinement. When done right, it can dramatically boost customer acquisition, deepen engagement and reduce churn. As always, the key lies in understanding your audience’s needs, collaborating with complementary partners and weaving everything together into a seamless, data-driven experience.

Ultimately, super bundling is a growth strategy worth considering because it is driven by a simple consumer desire: convenience and value. People want to feel as though they’re paying for a curated selection of quality products and services in one place, rather than juggling multiple subscriptions on different platforms. In my experience, the publishers who truly grasp this – and deliver a frictionless experience – enjoy valuable beneficial improvements in retention and customer satisfaction.

Michael Brunt is a co-founder of  HBM Advisory