Pressconnects Subscribers Surprised by 53% Price Hike

Press & Sun-Bulletin readers who rely on the newspaper's digital platform are being hit with a substantial price increase.

The Binghamton Gannett outlet has advised Pressconnects subscribers who have been paying $12.99 a month that their rate will go up by seven dollars.

The subject line in the email sent to customers made no mention of a price hike. It simply read: "Your Digital Subscription Update."

One longtime Press & Sun-Bulletin reader who had discontinued receiving the print edition of the paper because it lacked timely news content said he was shocked by the 53% increase in the digital subscription fee.

Even with the new monthly fee of $19.99, the digital option will provide a significant savings over the current cost of the home-delivered print edition. Some of those customers are paying more than $43 a month.

Single copy prices of the Press & Sun-Bulletin have been increased dramatically in recent years. The Sunday print newspaper now costs $4.50 and the daily paper is $3.50.

In an earnings call this month, Gannett CEO Mike Reed told investors the company's current focus is on "digital revenue growth and strengthening our balance sheet."

Reed indicated Gannett has "a heightened focus on profitability" and the amount of revenue it can obtain per subscriber.

Over the last several years, Gannett has been in an ongoing cost-cutting mode as it sold real estate and shut down printing plants across the country.

The Press & Sun-Bulletin has not had a newsroom for years. The newspaper officially moved out of office space at the Airport Corporate Center in the town of Union last May.

Gannett's $50 million Central New York Production Facility in Johnson City, which opened in 2006, closed 12 years later.

The Binghamton newspaper dropped its Saturday print edition last year. The paper now is printed in Rockaway, New Jersey.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.