Can you imagine a business that insisted on a phone call to begin a subscription? Like, say the NYT website had just a phone number instead of a link and a form.
That would severely reduce their circulation.
The whole reason the signup flow is done entirely online is because its simpler and more convenient for both the subscriber and the provider.
Which tells you why they don't offer the cancel flow through the same medium. Because it's too easy. They want to add friction and inconvenience to the cancellation.
It's not as bad as many gyms ("you must (snail) mail a form to our headquarters to cancel"), but it's a step in that direction.
That would severely reduce their circulation.
The whole reason the signup flow is done entirely online is because its simpler and more convenient for both the subscriber and the provider.
Which tells you why they don't offer the cancel flow through the same medium. Because it's too easy. They want to add friction and inconvenience to the cancellation.
It's not as bad as many gyms ("you must (snail) mail a form to our headquarters to cancel"), but it's a step in that direction.