Twitter buys Scroll, the $5/month service that removes ads from partner news sites; Scroll's Nuzzel email service will shut down on May 6
The Nuzzel email service is winding down and the future of Scroll is uncertain — Twitter's acquisition spree continues today with Scroll …
The VergeDieter Bohn
Context & Ripple Effects
Scroll had already absorbed Nuzzel in its effort to build a news subscription service, and Mozilla later tested Scroll as an alternative web-funding model. Twitter’s purchase moves that experiment inside a large social platform while ending Nuzzel’s standalone email product.
The acquisition’s intended arc became clearer when Twitter later folded Scroll into Twitter Blue as Ad-Free Articles, alongside a Nuzzel-like top-stories roundup. That makes the Nuzzel shutdown a product consolidation rather than a separate retreat from news discovery.
First-order effects
Twitter gains Scroll’s ad-free access arrangement with partner publishers, while Nuzzel subscribers lose the email service on May 6.
Scroll’s independent $5 subscription offer ceases to be the primary consumer product as Twitter takes control of its publisher-facing service.
Partner publishers must work through Twitter’s subscription product rather than Scroll’s standalone service to reach readers seeking ad-free access.
Third-order effects
The deal points to news subscriptions being bundled into broader platform memberships, where discovery, reader features, and publisher access are controlled by one platform rather than sold as separate services.
If platforms continue to absorb intermediary news products, alternative web-funding experiments such as Scroll’s become harder to sustain independently and more dependent on platform distribution.
The trend: Social platforms are turning news-discovery and ad-free reading tools into subscription features rather than leaving them as standalone services.
I'm so excited to say that Twitter is acquiring @tryscroll! We'll be going into private beta as we integrate into a broader Twitter subscription later in the year. https://scroll.blog/... Here's why... https://twitter.com/...
Along with @Revue, our acquisition of @tryscroll will accelerate a new workstream we're calling Longform. Articles, threads and newsletters deserve a first-class experience on and off Twitter.
🥁... NEWS! Twitter is acquiring @tryscroll. Scroll gives readers what they want: clutter-free reading across the web, and publishers what they need: a way to make more money than they would through ads on their site. A short 🧵... https://blog.twitter.com/...
Why Twitter? For every other platform, journalism is dispensable. Twitter is *the only* large platform whose core success is intertwined with a sustainable journalism ecosystem.
Scroll has proven that there's a model for a better internet. Members get clean, fast-loading sites without ads while publishers make more money. However, we're not moving fast enough. https://twitter.com/...
We have a lot of work to do, but it is in service of a grand conversation that is vital. My heartfelt thanks go out to all those who believed in us from the very beginning and to those who have joined us along the way.
Twitter exists to serve the public conversation. Journalism is the mitochondria of that conversation. At its best it helps us stand in one another's shoes and understand each other's common humanity.
Every journalist that loses their job, every newsroom sold to unworthy owners diminishes the great conversation of which we are a part. That is why, when Twitter approached us about accelerating our mission we began to get very excited.
The mission we've been given by @Twitter is simple: take Scroll and scale it so that everyone who uses Twitter can experience an internet without friction and frustration. A gathering of people who love the news *and* pay to support it.
This is funny because I just started using Nuzzel again. My guess is they will (or certainly should) roll the Nuzzel recommendations into Revue https://www.theverge.com/...
Writers: a durable business model to support your work is paramount to helping people see what's happening in the world. Scroll will deepen our existing partnerships with top news, sports & entertainment partners & creators, and open new doors to thousands more 💰 https://twitter.…
It's a huge, happy day for us. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of Scroll, and for believing in what we do. We can't wait to keep building with you all at Twitter.
Readers: we're planning to re-launch Scroll as part of a future subscription service on Twitter. Imagine unlocking a clean, fast-loading experience for articles (or even newsletters from @Revue) with a portion of your subscription going to the sites and writers you read 📖 https:/…
#BREAKING: @Twitter is acquiring @arctictony's news tech startup @tryscroll — Twitter says Scroll will become a meaningful addition to its subscriptions product suite. — Follows Twitter's acquisition of @revue in January. — Full story on @axios: https://www.axios.com/...
“Analysts joke that Twitter suffers in comparison to other platforms because the value realized by third parties from Twitter is far greater than the value it is able to capture for itself. They see this as a weakness. It is a strength.” https://twitter.com/...
Scroll has proven that there's a model that gives consumers a better experience and journalists a better future. With the team at Twitter we can accelerate our vision to build a better internet.