The New York Times
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) is a 175-year-old digital-first subscription media business serving 12.5M+ digital-only subscribers with news, games (Wordle, Crossword, Connections), cooking, product reviews (Wirecutter), and sports (The Athletic) bundled behind paywalled web and mobile platforms.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1851
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What The New York Times does
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), founded in 1851 and headquartered at 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, operates a multi-product digital subscription platform anchored by its flagship news journalism and complemented by NYT Games, NYT Cooking, Wirecutter, and The Athletic. The technology stack comprises owned-and-operated web and mobile properties (nytimes.com, cooking.nytimes.com, wirecutter.com, theathletic.com) with dedicated apps, a proprietary games portfolio including Wordle, Spelling Bee, Connections, the Crossword family, and Strands, plus AI-driven personalization and recommendation systems used across news and cooking surfaces. Revenue is generated primarily through digital and print subscriptions (12.5M digital-only subscribers out of 13M+ total), third-party advertising across digital properties, and ancillary streams including games licensing (e.g., Wordle TV show with NBC), merchandise, and commerce integrations (Instacart). Customer segments span general news consumers, puzzle/game enthusiasts, sports fans, and group-license enterprise buyers (schools, universities, libraries, corporations). The Ochs-Sulzberger family retains voting control through a dual-class share structure while Berkshire Hathaway has emerged as the largest institutional shareholder at ~9.4%.
The New York Times firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The New York Times
- Legal name
- The New York Times Company
- Website
- https://nytimes.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1851
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) is a 175-year-old digital-first subscription media business serving 12.5M+ digital-only subscribers with news, games (Wordle, Crossword, Connections), cooking, product reviews (Wirecutter), and sports (The Athletic) bundled behind paywalled web and mobile platforms.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The New York Times industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital News and Media Subscriptions
- NAICS
- Newspaper Publishers (513110)
- SIC
- Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Magazine & Newspaper Subscription Platforms (Paywalls, Membership) (MPAJAMAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Digital Content & Media Subscriptions (CRAFAIAA), Gaming & Interactive Entertainment (Digital Goods, Subscriptions) (CRAFAIAC)
Keywords
Where The New York Times is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The New York Times business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Digital Subscriptions: Primary revenue driver with 12.5 million digital-only subscribers out of more than 13 million total subscriptions. Revenue from digital-only subscriptions reached $389.04 million in Q1 2026. The company offers All Access, Games-only, Cooking, and Wirecutter subscription products.
- Print/Home Delivery: Traditional print newspaper delivery service. The company continues to serve print subscribers alongside its digital transformation.
- Advertising: Third-party advertising across digital properties, including display ads, targeted advertising, and sponsored content. The company uses Google for ad services and works with various advertising technology providers.
- Games and Licensing: Revenue from games subscriptions, merchandise (apparel, accessories, puzzles, books), and licensing of Wordle brand for TV show production with NBC.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Games-only digital subscription |
| Subscription | Monthly | All Access subscription |
| Subscription | Annual | Group/Site License subscriptions |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels5 records
The New York Times product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The New York Times is a digital-first subscription media company that produces and distributes original journalism, lifestyle content, and entertainment. Its core news subscription provides breaking news, in-depth reporting, opinion, audio, and video across politics, business, world news, and lifestyle. The subscription bundles in-house lifestyle products: NYT Games (Wordle, Spelling Bee, Connections, Crossword, Strands, and more), NYT Cooking (recipes with Instacart grocery ordering), Wirecutter (product reviews), and The Athletic (sports journalism). Digital subscriptions are sold on a recurring basis and complemented by print home delivery, advertising, and licensing.
Product overview
The New York Times operates a multi-product digital subscription platform with a core news product and complementary lifestyle and entertainment offerings. The flagship NYT Games suite includes Wordle, Spelling Bee, Connections, The Crossword (daily, mini, midi), and Strands, all accessible via subscription. NYT Cooking provides recipes with Instacart grocery integration. Wirecutter offers product reviews, while The Athletic (acquired 2022 for $550M) delivers sports journalism including a Connections: Sports Edition puzzle. The portfolio includes over 13 million total subscriptions with 12.5 million digital-only subscribers. Games are available via the NYT Games app, individual subscriptions, or All Access bundles.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The Athletic: Sports journalism subscription service acquired by NYT in 2022 for $550 million, providing in-depth personalized sports coverage
- NYT Games
- NYT Cooking
- Wirecutter
- The New York Times Games
Products and services
- The New York Times Core News Subscription Flagship digital news subscription providing breaking news, US and world news, politics, business, arts, lifestyle, opinion, video, and audio content to individual readers seeking authoritative journalism.
- NYT Games Subscription-based portfolio of daily word and logic puzzles including Wordle, Spelling Bee, Connections, The Crossword, Mini Crossword, Midi Crossword, Strands, Tiles, Letter Boxed, Sudoku, and Pips, accessible via web and mobile apps for puzzle enthusiasts.
- NYT Cooking Recipe and cooking platform providing daily recipes, cooking advice, and inspiration, with grocery ordering integrated via Instacart for individual cooking enthusiasts and home chefs.
- Wirecutter Product review and recommendation service providing real-world testing and recommendations to help consumers choose products confidently, monetized through affiliate relationships and bundled in the All Access subscription.
- The Athletic Sports journalism platform offering in-depth, personalized sports coverage including team reporting, athlete profiles, game analysis, and a Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for sports enthusiasts.
- NYT Audio and Podcasts Audio content offering including podcasts and narrated articles available through the digital subscription for on-the-go listeners.
- Print Newspaper Home Delivery Traditional print newspaper delivered to subscribers' homes in the United States, with multi-copy options available for organizations, serving readers who prefer the physical newspaper.
- NYT Games Puzzle Books Physical puzzle books featuring NYT Games content including Mini Crosswords, Classic Crosswords, Sunday Crosswords, and special editions, sold via the NYT Store to puzzle enthusiasts.
- Group and Site License Subscriptions Annual volume-licensed subscriptions to The New York Times digital content for schools, universities, libraries, and corporations, providing centralized site-wide access for members.
Quantifiable outcome
- 12.5 million digital-only subscribers with 19.7% year-over-year growth
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use The New York Times
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The New York Times technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability3 records
Feature2 records
The New York Times partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and flagship.
- Alliance for Responsible Innovation in the Arts & Media (ARIAM)minorNYT joined the Alliance for Responsible Innovation in the Arts & Media (ARIAM), a new AI-focused content coalition dedicated to responsible and sustainable AI innovation and human creativity. Initial members include Disney, Adobe, Condé Nast, Financial Times, ITV, BBC, and other major publishers. The coalition advocates for legal and policy guardrails around AI usage.
- NBC / Universal Television Alternative Studio / Electric Hot DogflagshipThe New York Times partnered with NBC and Jimmy Fallon's Electric Hot Dog production company to develop Wordle into a primetime TV game show hosted by Savannah Guthrie. The deal took roughly two and a half years to develop, with the Times insisting on co-producing rather than simply licensing the brand. Production planned for Manchester, England, for 2027 premiere.
- Josh Wardle (Wordle Developer)flagshipThe New York Times acquired Wordle from developer Josh Wardle for a low-seven-figure sum. The game joined The New York Times Games portfolio and will remain free and unchanged in gameplay. Wordle has been popular since October 2021, and the acquisition aims to expand the Times' daily puzzle offerings and digital subscription services.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The New York Times competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Wall Street Journal (News Corp): News Corp's WSJ is NYT's closest direct competitor in paid digital news subscriptions for general-interest, business, and politics coverage, operating the same subscription-paywall model with bundled add-on products.
- The Washington Post: The Washington Post competes directly with NYT in national/international news, politics, and investigative journalism for paying digital subscribers, including via its own bundled lifestyle products.
- Financial Times: Financial Times is a global subscription news competitor with a similar digital-paywall model targeting business and politics readers; also a fellow ARIAM coalition member with NYT on AI policy.
- The Guardian: The Guardian competes with NYT in digital English-language general news and uses a hybrid freemium/subscription model for reader revenue, overlapping strongly on international and U.S. political coverage.
- Gannett (USA TODAY Network): Gannett is the largest U.S. newspaper chain (USA TODAY and 200+ local papers), comparable as a multi-outlet news publisher pursuing digital subscription and advertising, though with a heavier local/print skew.
Emerging players
- Substack: Substack is an emerging subscription-news platform that competes for subscriber dollars and independent journalist talent, posing a long-tail disruption threat to traditional news bundles like NYT's All Access.
- Vox Media: Vox Media operates digital-first news and lifestyle brands (Vox, The Verge, SB Nation) competing for advertising and subscription share in the same digital media categories as NYT.
Broad incumbents
- Disney: Disney is a broad incumbent in subscription content (Disney+, ESPN+) and fellow ARIAM coalition partner; comparable as a large diversified subscription-content operator investing in direct-to-consumer streaming bundles.
- Netflix: Netflix is a comparable large-scale digital subscription business demonstrating the unit economics and engagement benchmarks relevant for assessing NYT's subscription flywheel and valuation multiple.
- BBC: BBC is a global public-service news competitor and ARIAM coalition partner with NYT, comparable in news journalism reach, podcasting, and digital distribution across international markets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The New York Times social profiles
Digital presenceThe New York Times financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The New York Times leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
The New York Times subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
The New York Times funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The New York Times M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A15 records
Investments38 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The New York Times
What does The New York Times do?
The New York Times is a digital-first subscription media company that produces and distributes original journalism, lifestyle content, and entertainment. Its core news subscription provides breaking news, in-depth reporting, opinion, audio, and video across politics, business, world news, and lifestyle. The subscription bundles in-house lifestyle products: NYT Games (Wordle, Spelling Bee, Connections, Crossword, Strands, and more), NYT Cooking (recipes with Instacart grocery ordering), Wirecutter (product reviews), and The Athletic (sports journalism). Digital subscriptions are sold on a recurring basis and complemented by print home delivery, advertising, and licensing.
Is The New York Times a public or private company?
The New York Times is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was The New York Times founded?
The New York Times was founded in 1851. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is The New York Times based?
The New York Times is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does The New York Times make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Digital Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are print/Home Delivery, advertising and games and Licensing.
Who are The New York Times's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Wall Street Journal (News Corp), The Washington Post, Financial Times, The Guardian and Gannett (USA TODAY Network). Emerging players are Substack and Vox Media. Broad incumbents are Disney, Netflix and BBC.
Does The New York Times have an API?
No public API is recorded for The New York Times.
What industry is The New York Times in?
The New York Times's product category is Digital News and Media Subscriptions. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAMAD, Digital Magazine & Newspaper Subscription Platforms (Paywalls, Membership), with a secondary code of CRAFAIAA, Digital Content & Media Subscriptions. Its NAICS code is 513110 and its SIC code is 2711.