May 6 (Reuters) - New York Times subscribers jumped to 13.1 million in the first quarter as its blend of news and lifestyle content attracted readers navigating a volatile political and economic landscape, sending the company's shares up 5% before the bell.
The newspaper added 310,000 digital-only subscribers in the first three months of the year, outpacing analysts' expectation of 270,513, according to Visible Alpha. This brings it closer to its goal of hitting 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027.
Heightened geopolitical tension, including ongoing wars and shifting U.S. policies, has driven a rise in news consumption, driving more readers to the New York Times' digital platforms.
To attract subscribers, the Times has, in recent years, bundled its core news with games, sports and lifestyle content to broaden appeal and improve retention.
"Our results reflect strong demand for the uncompromised journalism and premium lifestyle content," CEO Meredith Kopit Levien said, days after NYT won three Pulitzer prizes, including for its investigative stories on the Trump administration.
Publishers globally are grappling with declining referral traffic from search engines that are increasingly using AI to answer queries directly, reducing visits to news websites.
Still, the Times' efforts to boost its advertising appeal by expanding video offerings on its flagship app have helped weather that impact. It last year launched a TikTok-style "Watch" tab to boost user engagement.
The company's digital-only subscription revenue grew 16.1% in the first quarter, above Visible Alpha estimates of 15%.
Digital ad revenues, meanwhile, jumped 31.6% to $93.3 million.
Overall, the Times posted revenue of $712.2 million, topping expectations of $699.9 million, according to LSEG. Adjusted profit was 61 cents per share, beating estimates of 47 cents.
In the second quarter, NYT said it expects digital-only subscription revenue to grow between 14% and 17%, while analysts expected 13.8%, according to Visible Alpha.
(Reporting by Kritika Lamba and Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
