Twitter has announced a big step towards launching a subscription service in the coming year. The company acquired Scroll, a software platform designed to make it easier to read online content without ads or multiple subscriptions. The Scroll team will help develop the upcoming subscription service for later this year.
Scroll launched last year as a way to help publishers monetise their online content. According to the company, it started with the premise of rethinking the internet without ads. Its subscription service gives readers a cleaner text, with no distracting ads, clickbait or trackers, while publishers receive a share of subscription revenues based on the amount readers engage with their content. The company already works with a number of major publications in the US, such as The Atlantic, USA Today, The Verge, Vox and The Daily Beast.
Twitter said the Scroll system should help publishers earn more revenue, as they take a share of subscriptions. In addition, the new model will support the development of online journalism and give readers a new way to support their favourite publications.
Scroll will return to a private beta following the acquisition, in order to focus on developing the Twitter subscription service for later this year. It will continue to support existing publishers on Scroll and those interested in joining can sign up on the Scroll website.
