Are their numbers increasing?
I don't know. They are still alive. That alone shocked me. Maybe F2P helped stem the bleeding?
I'd say limited planeset F2P should be considered a possibility worth thinking about. I'd wait until WarOP has been live for 6 months to a year and see how that goes. If it goes well, it might be worth trying a limited planeset F2P level in AHIII. It shouldn't negatively effect the current subscribers. It could be turned off later if it isn't useful. Or it could be turned back on for special F2P Weeks coinciding with holidays when people would have time off work. Like how HBO occasionally has a free weekend when anyone can watch.
It seems like a reasonable thing that could be tried.
But let me ask you. What do you see as a better alternative to increase numbers?
The leading alternatives I've seen so far:
1. Blindly throw wads of cash at national media market advertising with questionable ROI and hope you get some return before you go bankrupt?
2. Take your computer to the local mall and setup a folding table and show random shoppers the game and tell them how great it is?
3. Convince yourself that everything is awesome and it wouldn't matter to you if numbers dwindled down to 60 players a night on prime time?
4. Be more nice to noobs. (Always a good idea. I'm not sure if that would put 600 players in to the Main again.)
Did I miss one?
[edit] Oh yeah. 5. Add another Italian fighter. Sounds like fun, but I am skeptical on it adding numbers to the player base.
Anything else?