The Best Subscription Headlines of 2022
4 min readJan 4, 2023
Whenever I see a hot subscription story in the news, I post it on LinkedIn, with my thoughts on implications.
Subscriptions were in the headlines constantly in 2022, so I had a lot to write about. Every organization wants predictable recurring revenue, and investors value subscription businesses more highly than their transactional peers.
Below are the headlines I wrote about, along with a link to my analysis. Stories cover industries including streaming, pharma, ecommerce, airlines, cars, news, fitness fast food, heavy equipment and theme parks, as well as themes like valuations, subscription fatigue.
Some companies were perpetually in the headlines — Twitter, Peloton, Netflix, Amazon and CNN.
What do you think was this year’s biggest story in the subscription world? Anything I left out?
December
November
- How To Cancel Subscriptions You Forgot You Even Had (And Probably No Longer Need)
- ‘Knives Out’ Sequel Delivers in Theaters for Streaming Giant Netflix
- Elon Musk says the new Twitter Blue will relaunch on November 29th
October
- Netflix Seeks Ways to Get Subscribers to Return After Visits Decline
- ‘What idiot do you think I am?’ Customers chafe as rewards programs are pared back
September
- Amazon memo says ‘Thursday Night Football’ drew record number of Prime signups for a 3-hour period
- ‘This is pharma’s dream’: How drugmakers are turning telehealth into a marketing gold mine
- Paramount CEO Bob Bakish Confirms Talks About Fate Of Showtime Streaming: “If We Weren’t Having That Conversation, You Should Fire All Of Us”
- Deere Invests Billions in Self-Driving Tractors, Smart Crop Sprayers
- ‘It’s a slippery slope’: Most consumers underestimate monthly subscription costs by at least $100, study says
- Trying to Sell Your Old Peloton Bike? So Is Peloton.
- Netflix to bring forward launch of advertising tier
- Disney Explores Membership Program Like Amazon Prime to Offer Discounts and Perks
- MoviePass, the sequel: What to know about the return of the movie ticket subscription service
August
- Zoom pares back annual forecast as revenue growth slows to single digits
- Clothing subscriptions like Stitch Fix were once hot — but now might be the victims of ‘box fatigue’
- Private Equity Wants to Wash Your Car
- Streaming surpasses cable as top way to consume TV
- A California Startup Is Selling Electric Vehicle ‘Subscriptions’
- Six Flags’ Revenue Falls, Dragged by Low Attendance
- ValueAct Takes Stake in New York Times
- The Next Phase of The Information: On Heels of Axios Sale, Jessica Lessin Talks Subs, Startups and VC
- ‘Stealth mode’: how Disney overtook Netflix in streaming wars
- Walmart Explores Adding Streaming Video to Walmart+ Membership Program
- Netflix is expanding its push into video games, but few subscribers are playing along
- The iRobot Deal Would Give Amazon Maps Inside Millions of Homes
- Warner Bros. Discovery Weighs Free Ad-Supported Streaming Plan
- Netflix Is Scrambling to Learn the Ad Business It Long Disdained
July
- Amazon is buying ‘membership-based’ healthcare provider One Medical for $3.9 billion
- Morgan Stanley Reasons Why It Sees Apple Reaching $3T Valuation
- Netflix Loses Nearly 1 Million Subscribers, Vows Rebound
- Nearly a third of new subscribers to some news publications cancel in the first 24 hours
- Hulu Is Driving More Streaming Subscribers to Disney Than Marvel or Star Wars
- Disney jumps as report says it will hike ESPN+ monthly price 43%
- Why Locking In Subscribers Is Bad for Business
- Microsoft wins deal to serve ads on Netflix, edging out Comcast and Google
- Netflix Seeks to Renegotiate Deals to Show Ads Next to Popular Shows
- BMW starts selling heated seat subscriptions for $18 a month
- The Golden Age of Thrifting is Over
- Subscriptions suffer in face of inflation, but there’s an upside too
June
May
- Streaming services face ‘subscription fatigue’ after pandemic overload
- Elon Musk thinks he can double Twitter’s revenue through subscriptions alone
- The cost of Zoom
April
- Young Workers Ask: Why Get an M.B.A. When Raises and Promotions Are Rolling In?
- What doomed CNN+? How rival strategies and executive intrigue fueled the streaming service’s rapid demise
- No more password sharing?
- CNN+ will shut down at the end of April
- Lululemon will debut monthly memberships for clothes, events and classes in a bid for loyal customers
- Panera is expanding its subscription model to bring people to its restaurants
- Netflix Explores a Version With Ads as Subscriber Base Shrinks
- Peloton is raising subscription fees while cutting prices for its Bikes and other equipment
- Elon Musk Makes $43 Billion Bid for Twitter, Says ‘Civilization’ At Stake
March
- Andy Jassy on Figuring Out What’s Next for Amazon
- Airlines, Restaurant Chains Join the Subscription Bandwagon
- CNN Plus launches on Apple, Amazon streaming devices
- Apple will reportedly sell the iPhone as a subscription service
- Netflix Will Prompt Subscribers to Pay for Users Outside Their Households in New Test to Address Unauthorized Password Sharing (EXCLUSIVE)
- The direct-to-consumer craze is slamming into reality
- Peloton tests new pricing model, hires supply chain chief under CEO Barry McCarthy
- REI Plans To Grow Lifetime Membership Program To 50 Million, Here’s How
- This Is Peak Subscription
February
- Peloton’s new CEO sees app store and overhauled subscription model in its future
- Peloton’s Lanebreak video game is finally here
- The newest subscription service: Flights. Would you do up to 24 roundtrips a year for a monthly rate?
- Google plans privacy change similar to Apple’s, which wiped $230 billion off Facebook’s market cap
- Peloton and the Amazon Effect on Fitness
- Amazon Stock Soars. Plus, the Price of Prime Is Going Up.
- Facebook loses users for first time ever, market cap drops by $200 billion
- Losses Mount for Startups Racing to Deliver Groceries Fast and Cheap
- Streaming video no longer impresses investors, so media companies need a next act
