Colin's Corner

Bloggers are rock bands without record contracts

In this WIRED article Pat Kenealy, the CEO of International Data Group discusses a web revenue model that moves towards paid content - using TV as the analogy, noting how it moved from a free broadcast model in the fifties to a paid cable / satellite environment.  Pat argues that that proper implementation of micro-transactions will enable a gated content model.

As online publishers, we have become much too reliant on advertising revenue streams, a move towards paid, premium, high quality content will be very welcome.

However I guess with the acquisition of mySpace by News Corp - many independent bands are now associated with a major media label !

Yahoo! Launches Search Subscription Service

Yahoo! Inc., today announced the beta launch of Yahoo! Search Subscriptions  a service that enables users to search multiple online subscription content sources and the Web from a single search box. Subscription content includes for-pay news and reference Web sites. Yahoo! Search is claimed to be the first major search engine to offer the ability to search for personal subscription content found in the "deep web." The deep web includes millions of access-restricted Web sites containing content that search engines typically cannot access. The service is initially available in the U.S. and the UK.

You still however need a valid subscription to access the content.

NYT to charge for certain services

The New York Times Co. on Monday said that, starting in September, access to Op-Ed and certain of its top news columnists on the paper's NYTimes.com Web site will only be available through a fee of $49.95 a year. The service, known as TimesSelect, will also allow access to The Times's online archives, early access to select articles on the site, and other features.

Most of the material on the Web site, NYTimes.com, will remain free to users, The Times said, but columnists from The Times and The International Herald Tribune will be available only to users who sign up for TimesSelect, which will cost $49.95 annually. The new service, which is scheduled to start in September, will be provided automatically to home-delivery subscribers of the newspaper.

TimesSelect will also provide subscribers access to TimesPast, the paper's archives; exclusive multimedia, including audio and photo essays and video; TimesFile, a tool that will help users organize articles; and Ahead of The Times, which will allow subscribers to take an early look at articles that will appear in The New York Times Magazine, and the newspaper's Travel, Sunday Arts and Real Estate sections.

BBC Worldwide shifts revenue focus from Web ads to content

Now Marketing reports that  BBC Worldwide is trying to reduce its reliance on online ads as a revenue stream with a major push into content syndication over the coming year.

As well as an increase in content syndication, the strategy looks set to see a rise in supplementary paid-for material on sites such as those for Radio Times and Top Gear. BC Worldwide insists it won't start charging for existing online content, but will introduce paid-for features, games and Web-to-mobile services. Online advertising will clearly remain key, but the company hopes to generate upwards of 40% of its overall revenue from content syndication. BBC Worldwide is looking to transfer a number of its existing magazine brands online, with new launches expected in the food sector.

VNU Business Media U.S. launches Smart Supplier

In a move to drive paid subscriptions VNU Business Media U.S. has launched Smart Supplier, a subscription-based Web site and free e-mail newsletter aimed at providing Wal-Mart's suppliers insight into the company’s product category and operational strategies. VNU charges $195 annually, or $19.95 a month, for access to the Smart Supplier Web site. VNU views the Smart Supplier project as an attempt to generate subscription revenue and reduce its reliance on advertising revenue. The Smart Supplier Web site also repurposes existing content from a number of VNU Business Media publications, ranging from the Hollywood Reporter to Billboard to Convenience Store News. Although Smart Supplier is still in the early stages, VNU is considering expanding the concept to other resellers.

Expect to see many other B2B media companies testing paid subscription models to assess if they can generate revenue for their insights into the industries they cover.

VNU launches subscription Web site focusing on Wal-Mart's marketing, supply-chain strategies

VNU launches flurry of Web-related moves

US Paid Content Content Grows 14%

  The Online Publishers Association (OPA) has just released its full year 2004 Paid Online Content U.S. Market Spending Report. The study found that consumer spending for online content in the U.S. grew 14% to $1.8 billion in 2004.

Online Personals/Dating remained the leading paid content category in 2004, with spending increasing 4% to  $469.5 million for the year. Driven by online music sales, spending on Entertainment/Lifestyles grew 90% from $217.6 million in 2003 to $413.5 million in 2004. However, spending on Business/Investment content declined 6%. The Sports and Games categories showed strong annual growth of 38% and 22%, respectively.

Paid Subscriptions

Network Subscriptions offers an interesting new way to access quality online content. They partner with leading publishers to create unified content bundles - a network of subscriptions for one low fee. Their Business Network includes full access to The Wall Street Journal Online, Economist.com, Harvard Management Update, getAbstract's weekly business book summaries, TechnologyReview.com and Encyclopædia Britannica Online. All in a single subscription of $23.95 per month! In fact their subscription for all six titles is less than the online only subscription to WSJ Online.

This is an interesting model which could offer both B2B and B2C sites a way to extract some revenues from readers. Even if a site has part of their content gated, subscribers may be willing to pay for that element as part of an overall bundle. Until now, most publishers have been unwilling to gated content given their heavy reliance on advertising. The bundled subscription model could offer publishers an opportunity to  experiment more with paid content models.