The Hill announced Wednesday that it’s rolling out The Hill Insider, a new subscription tier built for its most engaged readers. Nexstar’s Washington-based outlet already holds a dominant position in the digital news space when it comes to covering Capitol Hill, and now it wants to capitalize even further on that standing. AM/FM radio should be paying close attention, because subscriptions might be exactly the revenue lifeline this industry needs.
It makes sense why The Hill went this route. The outlet has largely relied on digital advertising, and that’s an increasingly fragile place to sit heading into the back half of 2026. If there’s one thing that’s true today, it’s that a company needs multiple revenue sources to survive, let alone compete or thrive. The Hill’s new Basic tier runs $5.99 a month, while Premium hits $9.99, and both come bundled with a 14-day free trial designed to hook subscribers before they commit long-term.
My first job in media happened at a local Christian TV station, and the revenue mix there put most radio groups to shame. We sold traditional advertising, sure, but the station also collected retransmission fees from cable and satellite providers. Televangelists paid to air their programs, and a steady stream of donor appeals rounded out a genuinely diversified pie.
Radio, meanwhile, has leaned on a single revenue stream for decades: advertising. That’s it. That’s the model. It’s outdated. And most know it. So, how do we change it?
A Shrinking Pie
Borrell Associates and BIA Advisory Services both track local ad spending, and neither paints a pretty picture for radio right now. The pie is shrinking, and it’s shrinking fast.
Some companies have shifted toward a “digital-first” strategy, and that’s helped at the margins. Still, it hasn’t solved the underlying problem, and I haven’t seen many radio companies build out a real subscription strategy yet.
That, to me, is a missed opportunity sitting in plain sight.
Subscriptions won’t replace advertising overnight, but they don’t have to. They just need to add another slice to a pie that keeps shrinking. The Hill’s approach offers a useful blueprint here: keep the core product free, then charge for depth, access, and exclusivity. Its Comscore ranking as the top political news site for eight straight months proves the free tier can stay strong while a paid layer grows alongside it.
Radio could apply that same logic to morning shows, high school sports coverage, or hyperlocal updates listeners can’t easily find anywhere else.
Fighting Fatigue With Relevance
I’m convinced subscriptions represent the clearest path toward non-traditional revenue for radio. The catch is that everything today comes wrapped in a subscription, and fatigue is inevitable. Walmart tries to sell me a Honeycrisp apple subscription every time I open its app. No thanks, Walmart, I’m good.
The counter to that fatigue is being essential, and local content remains radio’s biggest advantage. Local news, local weather, and local sports keep listeners hooked, and traditional outlets that once owned that space are dying at a rapid pace. AI tools also make it easier than ever to produce that content efficiently, so the barrier to entry keeps dropping for stations willing to try.
I’m not suggesting anyone charge $20 for a video feed of the morning zoo crew, because that won’t move the needle. Finding the right price point, though, alongside the right content and the right promotion, can absolutely work for stations and clusters that commit to it. It just takes real investment in the content, the strategy, and the system behind it. Whether it’s podcasts, video, or newsletters, the format doesn’t matter. The options are out there, and
Every market looks different, and every cluster needs its own formula. Still, the opportunity sits right in front of the industry, and a diversified revenue stream remains essential to any media company’s survival. The Hill just showed one way to build that model. It’s time for radio to build its own version, roll it out, and share the results so the whole industry can rise together.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.