New York Times Invests in "Blendle", the Startup that is Calling itself "iTunes for Journalism"

 

 The New York Times company and a German publisher, Axel Springer, are investing 3.8 million dollars into a startup from the Netherlands called Blendle. Calling itself “iTunes for Journalism”, Blendle allows users to read and browse content on an a per-article basis.

Blendle was launched in the Netherlands six months ago and sells individual articles from a number of newspapers and magazines to internet users through its website and app. People pay only for the articles they read and an ask for a refund if they do not like the article. Blendle currently has 130,000 registered users and plans to expand to other countries with the new funds they are receiving.

 This startup is getting the attention of big newspapers in the United States and Europe who are struggling with a decline in revenues from print advertising.  With this decline, many newspapers and magazines have replaced print advertising income with digital advertisements and online subscriptions. Blendle is appealing because it is the answer for people who want to access news content online but do not want to get locked into a monthly subscription.

CEO of Axel Springer SE, Mathias Döpfner, said “As a publisher we want to convince users to pay for great journalism; also in the digital age. I'm therefore delighted that a European startup is building a platform for paid access to quality journalism that is easy to use. Blendle has the potential to attract young, internet savvy readers,”