The New York Times to test Wirecutter as subscription product

The New York Times is working on building a subscription product for its consumer reviews site Wirecutter. Currently, the newspaper earns affiliate revenue when a reader purchases a product reviewed on Wirecutter. Recent reviews have picked the very best dash cams and oat milk and, uh, laundry baskets. Now, The New York Times is telling investors they’re working on a break-out digital subscription, to join existing offerings like Cooking and Games.

Despite the occasional dustup over a recommendation, Wirecutter revenue has only grown in the years since The New York Times purchased the site for more than $30 million in 2016. The newspaper’s executives recently noted that losses in revenue from its television series The Weekly and live events in 2020 were partially offset by higher Wirecutter referral revenue. The newspaper is also working on a standalone product for Audm, the audio startup it acquired. The app currently features long-form journalism read by professional narrators from more than two dozen publications.