The New York Times recently announced that it will introduced a paid-subscription model in 2011. However, this subscription will only work for people that have viewed a certain amount of content. Let’s assume that number is 5.
So, if you visit www.nytimes.com and try to view the 6th article, you’ll have to pay. However, there in lies the problem. As a consumer, how many people view more than 5 pieces of content? I personally view at-most 3 articles a day on a given site. So, if www.nytimes.com is relying on monetizing a more captive audience, it may not work.
Why? Because the same content is available elsewhere. The following screen shots of CNN.com and NYTimes.com were taken at approximately 12:25pm on Thursday January 21st. You’ll notice that nearly all the content on the home page is same. So, why would anyone pay to access information that is available elsewhere?
You can only charge for premium content. The financial information industry considers its content premium and therefore many financial sites charge for content. People reading financial sites are not reading them for fun. Their intent is to make financial decisions on this information. Therefore, they’re willing to pay.
Will the metered paywall succeed? Maybe. However, the chances are slim.
