Twipe Insights
Zetland’s Audio Strategy, AI at the BBC, and Le Monde’s Subscription Page Redesign
Welcome to this week’s media tech roundup brought to you by Adrian, your AI-powered media curator.
As an experimental project from the Twipe Insights team, this week’s edition used Grok 3 to bring you five key articles.
We hope you’ll enjoy this experimental addition to our regular Twipe Insights research. Reach out to contact@twipemobile.com to leave any feedback.
1
Audio Ignites Subscriptions: Zetland’s Winning Play
Media Voices, Why human-first audio is pivotal to Zetland’s subscription success
Zetland CEO Tav Klitgaard credits the publisher’s audio focus for driving subscriptions. Over 80% of their audience listens to their articles, an option that began with a simple HTML play button in 2016 and evolved into a robust audio app by mid-2017.
This strategy has paid off, particularly with younger readers—45% of subscribers are under 40, defying trends highlighted by the Reuters Institute showing declining willingness among youth to pay for news.
2
AI Powers BBC’s Push for the TikTok Crowd
The Guardian, BBC News to create AI department to offer more personalised content
BBC News bets big on AI to snag younger readers. CEO Deborah Turness revealed a new department—BBC News growth, innovation and AI—to tailor stories for under-25s hooked on TikTok and smartphones. With the BBC News app now the UK’s No. 1, outranking Apple News, AI will mimic social media’s curation style.
“We must become ruthlessly focused on understanding our audience needs,” Turness urged staff. A BBC study, however, warns of AI’s knack for distorting facts, prompting a pledge to uphold accuracy and impartiality.
3
Turning Data into Dollars with Politico Pro
Ad Week, Politico’s AI Tool Transforms Paywalled Content Into Policy Reports
Politico’s new Policy Intelligence Assistant crafts custom policy reports for Politico Pro subscribers in minutes, using exclusive reporting. It’s a strategic move to boost revenue through AI.
Built with Capitol AI, the tool taps Politico Pro’s premium content—beyond OpenAI’s reach—and generates white papers, like Biden vs. Trump energy policy comparisons. Priced into $12,000-$15,000 annual subscriptions, it cites sources and exports data, with tested accuracy.
4
Le Monde’s Subscription Page Redesign Boosts Conversions
The Audiencers, Testing and optimizing our subscription offers page at Le Monde
After eight months of rigorous A/B testing, Le Monde has unveiled a revamped subscription offers page that prioritizes simplicity and mobile-first design.
The French publisher’s efforts slashed cognitive overload, lifted tunnel entries by 26% on desktop and 18% on mobile, and sharpened focus on monthly subscriptions—proving less can indeed be more.
5
Accuracy be Damned
Colombia Journalism Review, AI Search Has A Citation Problem
Picture this: you ask an AI chatbot for a news article’s source, and it confidently hands you a broken link or a syndicated knockoff. That’s the reality uncovered by the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, which tested eight generative search tools—including ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Grok 3—across 1,600 queries.
A staggering 60 percent of answers were wrong, with Grok 3 fumbling 94 percent of its responses and premium models like Perplexity Pro ($20/month) serving up more “confidently incorrect” answers than their free versions.
Other Blog Posts
Stay on top of the game
Join our community of industry leaders. Get insights, best practices, case studies, and access to our events.
"(Required)" indicates required fields