I was sent this link today which looks at the online market share drop of Britain’s The Times since introducing a paywall two months ago. Not surprising to see a drop in share given it is first to market and free alternatives are readily available, but it will be interesting is to see if other traditional media houses follow suit and charge for content…actually, that should probably be ‘when’ rather than ‘if’. Closer to home, it’s been widely acknowledged that news.com.au is looking at how it charges for content with rumours of paid-for content appearing later this year.
A first-to-market was always bound to see a drop off. By implementing the paywall now though, will it stand The Times in good stead when others join them?
Having personally downloaded several issues of Men’s Health magazine to read on an iPad, it’s not hard to see why traditional media is looking at online content, after all Rupert Murdoch noted over a year ago that print publications would have a life expectancy of about 10 years. With the level of interaction, video content and browsing capability digital issues bring to the party (at least in the case of Men’s Health) I just wonder if print publications will survive to see 2015 let alone 2020?
Tags: digital, Murdoch, news, news.com.au, paid-for content, The Times
