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The Hidden Meaning Behind
Rupert Murdoch's WSJ's "No-Fee" Strategy
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The News |
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Rupert Murdoch announced recently that after
its purchase he may make the Journal's
long-standing subscription content available
for free in order to support a solely
traffic-driven ad sales model. |
What's Behind It |
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This announcement is as much about Murdoch's
relentless Thirst for World Domination as it is
about the future of web subscription
products. Consider its timing vis-a-vis
the NYT's recent announcement of
the "opening up" of its own TimesSelect
product for free (a low-value Type I content
product), and the message it sends to the free
financial portals and Murdoch's other
competitors. |
What It Means for You |
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Video
Briefing:
The Value of Web
Content:
Type I, II and III
(4
mins)
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But it also reflects a consistent trend for the
online content subscription marketers.
If you're producing solely Type I content --
i.e. ubiquitous, unclearly-differentiated
content that's widely available across media --
you should be thinking about ways
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drive advertising revenue and audience
development. Don't expect visitors to pay
for such content.
But if you're marketing well-differentiated
higher-value, exclusive, and
uniquely-interactive content, a subscription
model can still apply. (You should still however have some
free content in front of the wall to attract traffic, and be looking at ways to build ad sales revenue to
capture the growth that's in progress
today.)
What is High-Value Content?
This includes Type II content (hard-to-find
mission-critical decision-making information
that meets a user need better online than
elsewhere). And it also includes Type III
content (functional, interactive tools
exclusive to the interactive
medium).
Expect the Journal to migrate more editorial
content in front of the subscription wall in
order to drive site traffic for ad sales,
registration and sales of its higher-value Type
II and III content (which will continue to be
subscription fee-driven).
It's a pattern we've seen progressively for
offline publishers' sites, as they've gradually
started to understand the value of their print
content when it's placed online.
In the long run, Murdoch's future move will
also be a sign of how the content value/market
model continues to evolve. The Journal's
edit-driven content model hasn't changed much
in recent years ... but the rest of the
Internet has.
Bill Baird, President
Baird Direct
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