[Report] The New York Times, Letterboxd and the Subscription Bundle
The New York Times Company is in exclusive talks to buy film community Letterboxd for about $330 million. Free 10-page PDF on the service, the sale process, NYT Q3 results, the Watcha comparison and lessons for Korean media.
The New York Times Company is in exclusive talks to acquire Letterboxd, the film logging and review community, for about $330 million — roughly 22 times its projected 2026 EBITDA. Membership is approaching 35 million, and half of active users are under 35.
This report sets out why a news publisher that has built a bundle beyond news put a price on a film community, and why Watcha, a Korean service founded the same year, changed hands for 4.25 billion won (about $3.1 million).
Format: 10-page PDF (English) · Price: free (sign-in to download) · Published November 2026 · By Jung Han, Entertainment Tech Correspondent
What is inside
- How Letterboxd works and makes money (Pro, Patron, Video Store)
- Member growth and the sale process (LionTree, A24, Netflix, Sony, Paramount)
- NYT Q3 results and the bundle strategy (Wirecutter, The Athletic, Wordle)
- The Watcha comparison: rights costs and valuation
- Advertising dependence in Korean newspapers and broadcasting, and what it means