A news outlet with a "one size fits most" attitude. That is, they offer a product which caters to people who could be described as "average". Typically companies focus their energy only on (potential) customers, not those who aren't a good fit for the product in the first place. There probably are more profit-promising people out there for the NYT than those who are somewhat crypto-nerds. They don't like clicking ads, some may even feel uneasy using typical payment methods to buy a subscription.

> Also there are large populations where network monitoring and/or content restrictions are part of everyday life.

yeah, that's reasonable.