Blaze Media Pivots Conservative News to Subscription-Only Model to ‘Avoid the Censorship’ and ‘Politicized Practices’ of Big Tech Advertising (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Conservative media company Blaze Media shifted its news website and video content to an ad-free, subscription-only model Tuesday, a choice made in part to “avoid the censorship” it says comes along with Big Tech advertising.

The new version of Blaze’s news website, which will add in content from Blaze Media’s recently acquired publications Align and Return, will cost $5 per month to access, while BlazeTV+ (formerly BlazeTV) will run subscribers $120 per year.

In a Tuesday release, Blaze Media touted itself as the “first in the conservative media space to transition to this unique business model that focuses entirely on subscription revenue,” and shift away from “reliance on external display advertising partnerships.” The move goes against current trends, which have seen a slew of media companies embrace ad-supported models to monetize content over subscription-based platforms.

Per Blaze, offerings on the news site include stories from its newly formed investigation team, lifestyle and technology verticals, a well as content from conservative personalities Glenn Beck (who founded TheBlaze, prior to its 2018 merger with CRTV to become Blaze Media), Jason Whitlock, Mark Levin, Steve Deace and Allie Beth Stuckey.