American Press Institute, with ITZ Publishing and Belden Interactive, recently published initial results of a study designed to help newspaper executives understand the current peer practices in generating revenue from digital content, the various pay models, success levels, and approaches to issues like site registration, electronic editions and tracking original content across the Web.

Among the preliminary findings, nearly 60% of respondents are considering initiating paid access for currently open/free news and information online, and nearly 25% expect to implement a paid strategy in the next six months. This is a big change, says the report, considering that 90% of the responding newspapers currently do not charge for content, and only 3% currently have a paid-only site.
Capturing new revenue and preserving print are likely the key drivers of any final decision to adopt a paid-content strategy. Thirty-four percent of respondents think capturing new revenue opportunities is or will be the most important factor, while 28% think it is or will be preserving print circulation.

Most of the respondents overlook the opportunities and discount the convenience of e-editions, which give users the experience of reading a newspaper online. Most are not charging for e-editions or are not charging enough:

• Only 67% offer an electronic edition of the paper on their Web sites
• 59% of those offer it free to their print subscribers 
• The median price for an online-only subscription is $5.99 a month.
• The median up-charge price, for those who offer it to print subscribers, is $4.99 a month

Current prices for online subscriptions strongly suggest that "convenience" pricing is generally in play, not tied to rigorous price analysis or research into what people are willing to pay. Respondents report a wide range of online subscription charges (from $1 to $27.50 a month), yet they report surprisingly uniform levels of uptake on subscriptions, typically 1% to 3% of print circulation, regardless of price.

While most of the respondents allow users to register for their sites, few require it and even fewer are monetizing registration in any way.

• Only 27% require users to register
• 23% have a specific program for monetizing registration information in active use
• 36% of respondents indicate they are considering a registration program

The report points out that there is a potentially deep disconnect between news organizations (The Provider) and the audience (The Reader) for their Web sites. Industry executives' responses are compared with user responses aggregated from Belden Interactive 2009 Local Market Surveys. While 54% of news executives rate their online news and information as "very valuable," only 44% of news Web site users see it that way.

The audience that gets its local news and information online would focus on the Internet and TV, not print, if their local newspaper Web site were no longer available. 68% of users say they would turn to other local Internet sites, 45% would turn to television, only 30% would turn to the print edition of the paper, while 75% of news executives think users would turn to their print editions.

The report concludes with key variables to be analyzed by news organizations contemplating a conversion to online paid content, or any other revenue opportunities.

To read the variables and recommendations, and for additional details about the study in PDF format, please visit the American Press Institute here.

(Source: The Center For Media Research, 11/10/09)

How Radio Stations Can Use This Information:

Be ready on your website with local news and information for free for when or if your local newspaper begins charging for online subscriptions.