The Hill is launching "The Hill Insider" on July 8, a new premium subscription service for political enthusiasts seeking deeper analysis. This marks its first foray into paid content, offering exclusive newsletters like "The Gavel" and "The Fight for '28," deep-dive reporting, and interactive live sessions with top journalists. Subscribers can choose from two tiers: Basic ($5.99/month) for full Insider content, or Premium ($9.99/month) which adds an ad-free experience and VIP event access. The service aims to provide a "next level" experience, going deeper than daily news with features like "Data Nerds" videos and direct journalist interaction, fostering a community around high-level political discourse. The existing Hill.com remains free, with Insider serving as an additive product for those who want to "geek out" on Washington politics.
The Hill, the political newspaper and digital site, is launching a new premium subscription product aimed at readers who want to “geek out” on high-level politics, policy and campaigns.
“We’re sort of a little bit of an institution here in Washington,” said Bill Sammon, Senior Vice President of Editorial Content for The Hill and NewsNation. “We thought, what if we take it to the next level and create even more value-added content that allows people who are really into this kind of thing to geek out and really marinate in it.”
Debuting Wednesday, The Hill Insider will offer paying members exclusive newsletters, deep-dive reporting, and live interactive sessions with some of Washington’s most closely followed political journalists. “For more than 30 years, The Hill has delivered trusted, unbiased political news coverage,” Sammon said. “We are pleased to offer this community of readers a new exclusive experience with The Hill Insider. As we all know, in Washington, information is power.”
The Hill Insider launches with two subscription tiers--$5.99 (or $59.99 a year), which provides full access to Insider content, or a “premium” subscription for $9.99 a month ($99.99 a year) that adds VIP access to live events and an ad-free experience on TheHill.com.
“We couldn’t be happier about it,” Sammon said. “It’s the first time that we’ve really done a subscription service, and not just at the Hill, but in all of Nexstar,” The Hill’s parent company. “I’ve never done this before, so we think it's a really important step for us, and we couldn't be more psyched about it.”
Sammon said the idea behind Insider is to take what The Hill already does--and go “a level or two deeper,” giving the brand’s most devoted fans even more information on stories ranging from what’s happening inside the Supreme Court to the latest polling and predictions in city, county and state elections.
“I know that we have a lot of super fans, right?” Sammon told me. “How many of those are going to become subscribers? I don't know. I hope it's a lot of them.”
The Hill Insider bundles together many of the newsroom’s most specialized efforts. Among the marquee offerings:
While The Hill Insider will give subscribers access to information, it’s also designed to give The Hill’s biggest fans a way to engage with journalists covering politics in Washington and beyond. In an increasingly fragmented media landscape, building ties to readers and viewers has become a priority not just for The Hill, but other news brands which have rolled out products designed to encourage two-way communication.