Case Study: TechCrunch achieves a new revenue pillar and premium Extra Crunch subscription experience with Piano

TechCrunch - Customer Case Study

TechCrunch, the long-running technology news site with about 15 million monthly users, faced shrinking display-ad opportunities as revenue consolidated with Google and Facebook and growing distrust in media. Rather than dilute coverage to chase scale, the team studied loyal readers and decided to pursue a subscription strategy that would better serve entrepreneurs and thought leaders while creating a sustainable new revenue stream.

Working with Piano, TechCrunch spent two years developing and on February 12, 2016 launched Extra Crunch — a premium layer that keeps the core site free but adds exclusive deep-dive content, event discounts, and tools like Rapid Read and List Builder. The product aimed to monetize loyal users without paywalling existing coverage, delivering a utility-driven experience and establishing an additional pillar of revenue for the business.

TechCrunch

Travis Bernard

Head of audience development