Infographic: Should You Pay for Content Online?
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As consumers make the switch from print to digital, media companies have been forced to find new ways to monetise and profit from their content. Over the years, websites have resorted to charging subscription fees for content that was once free, a trend known as paywall-ing.
Some 300 newspapers have jumped on the bandwagon since the New York Times pioneered the paywall trend in March 2011. Since then the publication has added nearly half a million new subscribers who pay between $15 and $35 a month for the digital version of the NYT.
As consumers make the switch from print to digital, media companies have been forced to find new ways to monetise and profit from their content. Over the years, websites have resorted to charging subscription fees for content that was once free, a trend known as paywall-ing.
Some 300 newspapers have jumped on the bandwagon since the New York Times pioneered the paywall trend in March 2011. Since then the publication has added nearly half a million new subscribers who pay between $15 and $35 a month for the digital version of the NYT.
For some of the largest media companies, the decision to charge readers for online content has paid off. Gannett, the largest US newspaper publisher measured by total daily circulation, for example, is projecting that their paywalls and price increases would bring in an additional $100 million in annual operating earnings during 2012.
Take a look at the following infographic by Best Colleges Online to find out more about the companies that profited, as well as those who failed, from their paywalls.
