> No, the subscription model has been the basis for the industry for the past 100 years. I had always been told that the subscription price was to cover the ma

> No, the subscription model has been the basis for the industry for the past 100 years. I had always been told that the subscription price was to cover the marginal cost of printing and delivery, but the majority of revenue for most publications was from advertising, which was meant to cover the cost of creating the content, whether it be entertainment or journalistic. That having been said, you would see many things bundled together in the past, so your newspaper subscription would get you a weekly magazine, and as you mentioned with the split between basic and premium cable packages.