Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Times Are a Changin' For 'Fee' Content

The other shoe has dropped on pay-for news content. First the Old Gray Lady (NYTimes), and now the Wall Street Journal decided to ad-supported publishing is so great that it makes giving up on subscription services. With behavioral and target marketing technologies spreading like a California wildfire, the per user revenue is about to skyrocket.

Journalism expert Dante Chinni
warns that ad revenue might not grow as quickly as publishers might hope.

Online ad revenues may be growing like weeds, but the growth rate has begun to slow sooner than expected. Even the most optimistic projections suggest if they keep growing at their current rate it will take more than a decade for them to equal the money that comes in from print newspaper ads.

Newspaper publishers have to make up their losses in print circulation and pay-for services by becoming marketing/technology leaders in understanding and leveraging their audience. The NY Times reader is a highly desirable demographic no matter where he/she lives; producing ads that are relevant to both the location and tastes of the individual on the fly are a requirement.

Content should be free, but user registration can be mandatory for select content. Publishers can work with ad networks to track behaviors across sites, or they take the most direct method of periodically asking people about their tastes.

Posted By John Gartner at 09:08 AM
Permanent Link: Times Are a Changin' For 'Fee' Content | Comments (0)

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