The dot.com failure I was with relied on subscription revenue. We offered a money-back guarantee for a trial membership. Everybody asked for their money back as their tial periods ended. I was thrown overboard with severance about the time the hemorrhaging really got bad. They didn't get rid of the crazy executives who thought up this fraudulent business plan until 3 months later.
Even Britannica had to drop the subscriptions. Nobody has more info to sell than they do, and even that wasn't bringing in the revenue. I can't imagine NYT drawing a profit on their internet subscriptions.