Amazon Kills Kindle Newsstand
- Paul Thurrott
- Mar 16, 2023
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Amazon announced today that it has stopped selling print and Kindle magazine and newspaper subscriptions and will shut down Kindle Newsstand on September 4, 2023.
“Effective March 9, 2023, Amazon is no longer selling print and Kindle magazine and newspaper subscriptions,” an announcement on Amazon’s website reads. “You [can] no longer be able to order a Kindle Newsstand or print magazine subscription [and] annual Kindle Newsstand and print subscriptions will not be renewed through Amazon.”
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Those with monthly Kindle Newsstand subscriptions will continue to receive new magazine and newspaper issues through September 4. And while you can continue to read the issues that have already been delivered to you, you will no longer be able to renew the subscription(s) through Amazon. (For those with annual subscriptions, you will continue to receive new issues until your current subscription ends or September 4, whichever is earlier.)
So, why is this even happening?
“As part of our annual operating planning review process, we always look at each of our businesses and what we believe we should change,” an Amazon statement explains. “Following an assessment of our magazine and newspaper subscriptions and single-issue sales, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue these services. We don’t take these decisions lightly and are winding down these offerings in a phased manner over several months. We will continue to support customers, sellers, and publishers during that time.”
OK, so that doesn’t really explain why, of course. But it is perhaps relevant that Amazon will continue to offer select digital magazine subscriptions through its Kindle Unlimited service, which costs $9.99 per month. Perhaps the firm is hoping to earn money if it can convince enough customers—and publishers—to adopt this service.
Whatever the reason, you can see the status of your existing Kindle Newsstand subscriptions on your Memberships and Subscriptions page on Amazon.com. (Change the “View” drop-down to “Kindle Newsstand Subscriptions.”)