In 2009 and 2010 – as the economy turned down and some publishers failed to capitalise on big audiences with online ads – the idea of charging for content came around again. So who’s already charging for content, which content do they keep behind the wall, and how are they faring? Here’s our assessment. This is a work-in-progress – if we’re missing someone, please get in touch.
|
Title |
Details |
Sub price |
Paywall inception |
Subscribers |
Web users |
Estimated income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
All stories but not blogs, video or Alphaville. Ten articles/mth for free-registered users. |
£3.29/wk (£171.08/yr) basic, or £10.02/wk (£521.04/yr) w/ paper. |
2002. |
126k subs & |
11.4m/mth |
£21.54m> /yr * |
|
|
Digital replica is this Northern Ireland daily’s only web output. |
2008/09? |
- |
- |
- |
||
|
Previously published at Ireland.com, a domain acquired in ’97 and spun off in ’08. |
- |
2002 – 2008. |
- |
- |
- |
|
|
Opinion, analysis, columnists, obituaries, crossword, chess and bridge. |
2006 |
Won’t say. Editor Alan Greenwood: “Large percentage of our Premium Content customers are long-term subscribers.” |
1.69m/mth |
Editor Greenwood: “Steady revenues.” |
||
|
All the daily and website stories, including new interactive features ie. chat with reporters. |
1/day, £2/wk, or free w/ £408/yr print sub |
June 2010 - |
- |
20.4m/mth before the wall. |
£6.3m /yr * |
|
|
Digital replicas of 41 of group’s 220 newspapers (another 60-70 have free websites). |
Same as print – eg. £0.55/ea, £6.95/qtr, £13.95/half, £27.80/yr for Tavistock Times Gazette. |
2009 |
“Hundreds” for each, “thousands” in total, says MD Brian Doel. |
Unaudited. |
>£113,980 /yr * |
* Notes on estimates:-
— Financial Times income estimate based on 126,000 people buying cheapest annual subscription package – £3.29/wk (£171.08/yr).
— TheTimes.co.uk/SundayTimes.co.uk income forecast based on five percent of March 2010 daily readers paying @ £2-a-week for a year.
— Tindle income estimate based on 100 for each of 41 titles, each paying £27.80 annual rate.
May 4, 2010





Comments have been disabled for this post