In Italy, it was long assumed that the willingness of Italians to pay for digital news media was low. Publisher Corriere della Sera experimented with bundling other products such as CDs and books with the print newspaper, but were unsure whether its market would pay at all for digital.

However, the Corriere team knew they had three strong things going for them as they considered launching a paid digital product:

• Millions of readers on the Corriere Web site
• A 150-year history that created strong reputation and trust with the public
• A deep relationship with Italians and their families

“These three things gave us the confidence to start in a more effective way with the paywall,” said Fabio Napoli, digital business director of RCS Media Group which owns Corriere della Sera.

Speaking with Greg Piechota in a Readers First Initiative webinar on Wednesday, Napoli told INMA members that Corriere began the journey in 2016 with a simple metered model of around 20 free articles per month. In late 2018, the team decided to launch a more effective website paywall strategy, in spite of challenges such as low digital advertising and print sales down in newsstand kiosks.

The results speak for themselves. Corriere saw staggering 5.6x growth between 2018 and 2025:

• 2018: 135,000 digital subscriptions
• 2023: 600,000 digital subscriptions
• 2025: 754,000 digital subscriptions

The question Piechota posed was: How did Corriere sustain this acquisition while reducing churn?

The most important factor was the decision not to choose between reach or subscriptions, Napoli said.

“This is important because I think that you cannot do subscriptions without reach,” Napoli said. “Subscription was not sustainable without reach, and also without advertising. So the first decision was to find a business model that works in parallel with these two things.”

The first step was to lower the number of free articles from 20 down to 10, and then down to five. Later, the metered paywall was changed to a dynamic one. The second step was to treat digital subscriptions as a real business and focus on the team behind it, as well as the mindset of the entire company.

The team was also dedicated to experimenting with everything, from new products to newsletters, apps, and more to test the audience’s propensity to buy.

The Entrepreneurial Shift

“How did you make this traditional business with a great legacy to move more aggressively in digital?” Piechota asked.

Napoli replied that this legacy and history helps with innovation and was actually key in driving digital transformation.

Also instrumental was a 2016 change in ownership from stakeholder-owned public company to RCS Media Group, led by Urbano Cairo who has a deep background in publishing and broadcast news.

“Having him was very crucial to help us understand the importance of quality journalism, the journalists, and the content that could be published and sold also in the digital environment,” Napoli said.

This entrepreneurial ownership and mindset allowed for quick decisions and experimentation, versus the long process with many people and departments involved that is traditional to publicly owned media houses.

“It’s fundamental, because in our industry, being fast is very important. When you have an entrepreneur with a very clear idea, everything could happen. He’s a mentor, at the end, for our strategy.”

Expense and Promotion Strategies

Cost reductions took place, but cuts did not happen on content and editorial costs. Rather, the budget was reduced in areas like travel expenses, not those dedicated to quality journalism. Production quality and investment remained the highest priority.

Investments were also made in editorial promotion. For the first time, Corriere began promoting its brand outside the newspaper. In Christmas 2019 the first of these launched — a large television branding campaign that was focused on the values of the brand and the journalism, ending with a soft subscription proposal. Now, Corriere runs two or three TV campaigns each year.

“When they hit the paywall, they already know that Corriere della Sera is quality journalism, and that has value,” Napoli said.

Corriere acquired approximately 10,000 subscribers with each TV campaign ad, which represented nearly 10% of its subscriber base in 2018. The team also measures the cost per acquisition, using different KPIs than performance marketing to correctly assess the value as an investment for the future.

Pricing and Revenue Strategies

Digital subscription entry offers are low at Corriere, ranging from a three month trial at five Euros per month to an annual subscription at six Euros for the first year. Most new subscribers choose the annual plan, and this long first-year trial lowers the first barrier.

After the trial period, the price increases gradually and differently according to various audience segments, acquisition channels, and other factors.

“We try to explain to our readers that this is not the price of journalism,” Napoli explained. “This is just the price of removing the barrier for the first experience. We try to drive quality journalism to all the Italian population. More than 50% of Italian people are readers of Corriere.”

He and the team believe that before they can convince the reader to commit to a long relationship they need to try the product and develop a habit. They consider the long-term value of the customer life cycle, not just the immediate revenue.

As an example, Napoli shared that when the digital paywall was first launched it represented 25-30% of digital subscription revenue, with the remainder being advertising revenue — but now that figure is 65-70% subscription, with advertising representing only 35% or less.

Additionally, Corriere introduced a smart paywall last year that presents different content and offers to different users depending on their entry point, propensity signals, and behaviours. Some users are allowed to keep reading, some are hit with a hard or soft paywall, and some are served advertising. This results in 20% more page views and 15% higher conversions.

They are also intentional about reaching readers where they are, be that Spotify, podcasts, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc.

“The time is now to invest,” Napoli said. “I’m not sure it’s the time to generate value, now, from these channels; but it’s the time to invest, to experiment with what is working and not working for Corriere. We don’t need to lose our trust, our authority, but we need to change the language communicating with our readers.”

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