Opinion: Paywall or no paywall, print is still what pays
Posted in: Internet Use/New Technologies at 20/03/2011 20:23
The New York Times's model for online charging will no doubt be widely copied. But according to one analyst, print will still be providing 86% of UK newspapers' revenues even in 2017
So, at long, long last, we have the paywall policy all American newspapers - and many others around the globe - have been waiting for. Get the New York Times delivered at home and you receive internet access free. But eschew print and visit the website more than 20 times a month and you'll be charged $15 or $20 or $35 a month according to the number of bells and whistles (tablets, smartphones etc) you opt for.
In short, for all the brooding and pacing and endless delaying, it's a Financial Times sort of formula designed to bring in a useful infusion of reader dollars while not damaging unique-visitor traffic (and the advertising take it supposedly attracts) too direly.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/20/new-york-times-paywall-comment
