Supernews Inc

What Supernews Inc does

Supernews Inc is a Usenet service provider offering unlimited subscription-based access to more than 110,000 newsgroups via the NNTP protocol, operated by Livewire Services, Inc., a U.S.-based private company. The service has been continuously offered under the Supernews brand since at least 2004 (firmographic founding date listed as 1995), serving individual consumers globally through an English, French, German, and Dutch storefront. The product is a single subscription tier with retention depth positioned as the primary differentiator.

The underlying platform is NNTP server infrastructure with advertised retention of 4,600+ days for text and 1,100+ days for binary content, accessed by customers through standard third-party newsreader clients. There is no proprietary client or browser-based product; the service is delivered as protocol-level access with bandwidth quotas. The business model is direct-to-consumer subscription at $11.99/month or $99/year, with promotional acquisition pricing of $5.99 for the first month and $74.25 for the first year, and payments processed through GoCardless. A published affiliate program supports third-party customer acquisition.

The company does not disclose revenue, subscriber counts, or financial metrics. Strategic activity is limited to incremental commercial and defensive measures: localization into European languages, the affiliate program, GoCardless payment integration, and a DMCA registration for takedown compliance. There are no disclosed funding rounds, acquisitions, leadership changes, or new product launches. Operating in a mature, structurally declining Usenet protocol market, Supernews functions as a niche infrastructure utility whose value depends on retention depth, uptime, and price competitiveness rather than growth or differentiation.

Name

Supernews Inc

Legal name

Livewire Services, Inc.

Website

https://supernews.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Supernews Inc operates a Usenet/NNTP server service providing subscription-based access to 110,000+ newsgroups with deep retention, serving individual consumers globally through a multi-language storefront.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Usenet Newsgroup Access

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Web Archiving, Cache & Snapshot Services (BPAMAAAL)

Keywords

• Usenet access
• Newsgroup server
• NNTP service
• Binary retention
• Usenet subscription

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Monthly Subscription: Recurring monthly subscription at $11.99/month with promotional first-month pricing at $5.99 (50% off). Auto-renews monthly until cancelled.
2. Annual Subscription: Recurring annual subscription at $99/year with promotional first-year pricing at $74.25 (25% off). Auto-renews yearly until cancelled.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Supernews operates a Usenet newsgroups server delivering unlimited access to 110,000+ newsgroups through SSL-encrypted NNTP connections, with no speed throttling, up to 30 concurrent SSL connections per account, 23+ years of text retention, and 3+ years of binary retention. The service is sold as a single subscription plan offered on either monthly ($11.99/mo) or annual ($99/yr) terms with promotional first-period discounts and free trials. Customers self-serve signup through the website and access content through their preferred Usenet reader software.

Product overview

Supernews Inc offers a single unified Usenet access service — one plan with one price providing unlimited Usenet access. The service includes unlimited speed, SSL encryption with 30 concurrent connections, access to 110,000+ newsgroups, 20+ years of text retention, and 3+ years of binary retention. They offer two pricing tiers: monthly ($5.99 first month, then $11.99/month) and yearly ($74.25 first year, then $99/year), both with free trial options. The company also operates an affiliate program for partner referrals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Supernews Usenet Access Service Subscription-based Usenet newsgroups access service offering unlimited speed and access to 110,000+ newsgroups, 30 SSL-encrypted concurrent connections, 23+ years of text retention, and 3+ years of binary retention with daily updates. Sold to individual consumers on monthly or annual terms with free trial onboarding.
• Supernews Affiliate Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% article completion rate
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• GoCardlessminorOthersGoCardless is used as the payment processor for credit card transactions. Supernews does not store payment card details - information is collected and provided directly to GoCardless whose privacy policy governs the payment handling.
• Livewire Services, Inc.coreOthersLivewire Services, Inc. is the parent company and copyright/trademark holder for Supernews brand and website content.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Newshosting: Newshosting is a long-established Usenet service provider offering access to newsgroups with retention and SSL features. It directly competes with Supernews on unlimited access, retention, and price, serving the same individual consumer segment.
• UsenetServer: UsenetServer is a Usenet access provider competing on unlimited speed, retention, and binary completion. It targets the same individual power-user and forum-community segment as Supernews with similar subscription pricing.
• Easynews: Easynews provides web-based Usenet access alongside traditional NNTP access, targeting individual users with retention and completion features comparable to Supernews. It overlaps on customer persona, retention depth, and unlimited access.
• The-Usenet: The-Usenet is a Usenet provider offering unlimited access and SSL connectivity to individual subscribers. It targets the same customer base as Supernews and competes on price, retention, and connection limits.
• ThunderNews: ThunderNews provides high-speed Usenet access with SSL encryption and retention similar to Supernews. It competes for the same individual power-user segment with comparable subscription pricing.
• TweakNews: TweakNews is a European Usenet provider offering unlimited newsgroup access with SSL and retention features. It overlaps with Supernews on product offering and serves a similar European individual-customer base.
• BlockNews: BlockNews offers Usenet access with unlimited speed and retention, positioned in the same individual consumer segment as Supernews. It competes on similar feature and pricing dimensions.
• Frugal Usenet: Frugal Usenet is a budget-oriented Usenet provider competing primarily on price. It overlaps with Supernews on core product and customer persona, though Supernews differentiates on retention depth and completion guarantees.

Broad incumbents

• GigaNews: GigaNews is one of the larger and longer-tenured Usenet providers, offering newsgroup access with high retention and broader service tiers. It competes with Supernews on the same core capability (Usenet access) but typically serves as a broader incumbent with multi-tier pricing.

Emerging players

• Newsleecher: Newsleecher provides Usenet reader/download software and access partnerships. While primarily a software tool rather than a direct Usenet server, it sits in the same ecosystem and addresses overlapping user needs around binary retrieval from newsgroups.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SupernewsUsenet
• Facebookfacebook.com/supernews.usenet

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Supernews Inc