Tygodnik Powszechny and the lesson we didn't expect

On 23 March 2026, Tygodnik Powszechny — one of Poland's most respected weekly magazines — officially launched subscription sales through Zevio. I remember that day well: excitement on one side, and that startup-typical mix of adrenaline and uncertainty on the other. We'd done everything right, tested it, deployed it — but you never really know how the market will react until you see the first live data.

The offer was simple and bold: one month of reading for one złoty, followed by a regular subscription. A good offer, sure. But the results surprised us all.

The first 100 new subscriptions — in two days.

That's not a number you can shrug off. But what surprised us even more was something else entirely.

Readers had two options to choose from: a week of free access followed by a card payment — or one month of subscription for one złoty via BLIK Recurring Payments. You might have expected the free option to dominate. Instead, over 90% of readers chose the BLIK offer — and they didn't stop there. Only just under 14% chose to cancel their payment after the trial period, which given such an aggressive promotion is an exceptionally high retention rate.

Not the free access. The paid subscription. By their own choice.

This says something very important — not just about the strength of Tygodnik Powszechny's brand and the loyalty of its readers, but about how BLIK Recurring Payments works in practice. It's smooth and convenient enough to generate no friction at all. No card details to enter, no redirects, no "are you sure you want to continue?". The subscription just works — and people reach for it willingly, even when a free alternative is sitting right next to it.

This was our first real production test. We passed it. And Tygodnik Powszechny is now something more than our first client — it's the case study we return to in every conversation with the next publisher.

Full details of the offer are available here: One month of reading for one złoty