The EDP launched £1.99-per-month sports app The Pink ‘Un + in December, and Powles wrote an editorial outlining the plans.
Powles wrote: “To do this comes at a cost of course. I’ve written recently about changes to our Pink ‘Un offering, in which we are asking digital readers to pay a small price for the content they enjoy.
“In return we will deliver exclusive stories on a platform that is advert light and a pleasure to use. Watch this space in 2022 for similar digital developments with our news and business content.”
He added: “Our industry is faced with crippling increases in the cost of producing newspapers. Energy bills are rising, as is the cost of paper. However, we realise that every single one of you is faced with similar challenges, so those costs will not be offset by a price rise.”
Last month, HTFP reported how Archant had launched a new recruitment drive after admitting that publishers are finding it “increasingly hard to attract the right talent.”
At the time Jeremy Clifford, Archant’s editor-in-chief, said: “We are a publishing company that is trying to do many things differently from the larger publishers. And with the amount of noise in the recruitment market, we wanted to find a new way to get our voice heard.
“We are about to embark on an exciting strategy that will see us launch paid-for apps alongside our websites, as we move to a paid-for subscription-based model.
“The apps are beautifully designed and a brilliant platform to showcase our work. So we hope journalists will see that what we are doing is about putting a real focus on quality reporting.”
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