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By Jaspreet Singh
(Reuters) - The New York Times forecast first-quarter subscription revenue growth below market estimates on Wednesday, suggesting intensifying competition as rivals roll out new paid plans to attract readers and sending its shares down 12%.
The forecast followed weaker-than-expected growth in digital-only subscribers in the fourth quarter, a crucial period for the news industry because of the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election.
Long the beacon for news organizations in the digital age, the Times has started facing intense competition in recent months after media outlets including CNN and The Verge launched paid subscriptions in a crowded market.
Shares of NYT were on track for their worst day since June 2022, if losses hold.
It expects subscription revenue growth of 7% to 10% in the current quarter, compared with analysts' estimate of 9.9%, according to Visible Alpha.
But its 14% to 17% growth forecast for digital-only subscription revenue was above the estimate of 13.6%, a sign that declining print subscriptions was dragging the overall forecast.
Sticky inflation has also made it harder for NYT to drive growth by bundling its core news offerings with lifestyle-focused products such as Wirecutter, sports website The Athletic and games including Wordle.
To overcome that, the Times has a pipeline of content including shows, games and features that it will launch this year to woo users, CEO Meredith Kopit Levien said. "We'll focus on making each of our products more valuable to more people."
The Times added 350,000 digital-only subscribers in the quarter, higher than the 260,000 in the prior quarter, but below Visible Alpha estimates of 417,500.
It had 11.43 million total subscribers as of the end of 2024.
"While competition is intensifying, the Times is benefiting from its early-mover advantage," PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore said.
NYT's digital advertising revenue grew 9.5% in the quarter. Overall, its revenue of $726.6 million was in line with estimates.
Adjusted profit per share of 80 cents beat the 74-cent estimate.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
