Cable Network MS Now Looks To Turn Its Podcast Audience Into Paying Members.

MS Now is looking to turn its growing podcast and digital audiences into paying subscribers as it prepares to launch its first direct-to-consumer membership product next month.

The news network will debut MS Now Membership on Sept. 9, offering subscribers a mix of exclusive content, direct interaction with its journalists, community features and 24/7 access to live streams and television programming.

The move comes as audio has become a significant piece of MS Now’s audience strategy. The network says its podcasts have generated more than 80 million downloads so far this year, alongside more than 3.2 billion views across YouTube and TikTok.

That gives MS Now a sizable pool of podcast listeners and digital viewers that it can potentially convert into paying members — and underscores how news organizations are increasingly looking beyond advertising to monetize audiences built across audio, video and social platforms.

MS Now says there is also relatively little duplication between those audiences. According to Comscore, less than 10% of its television and digital audiences overlap, suggesting its expansion across newer platforms is bringing the brand in front of consumers who are not simply extensions of its cable audience.

The membership strategy is designed to deepen that relationship rather than replace MS Now’s existing television and digital products. It also plans original creator content and new verticals focused on how news and politics affect everyday life. The company says the offering will continue to evolve as it studies how subscribers use it.

"Our Membership is the first step in a long-term strategy to deepen our relationship with audiences in ways that build on what they already value about MS Now, while addressing what consumers told us was missing from the news experience,” President Rebecca Kutler says. “We will continue to research, test, and refine this experience because we want it to be something that our loyal MS NOW fans genuinely love, as well as something that future fans genuinely need.” 

Membership will cost $7.99 per month or $79.99 annually. But the channel is offering an introductory $39.99 price for the first year to subscribers who sign up by Sept. 30.

The push follows other efforts to move MS Now’s audience relationship beyond traditional television. In addition to its podcast, YouTube and TikTok reach, the network points to a series of sold-out live events as evidence that audiences are willing to engage with its personalities and journalism outside the cable bundle.