Publishers Continue to Test New Revenue Models Through Social News Readers
Publishers Continue to Test New Revenue Models Through Social News Readers
The rise of mobile apps is changing how consumers find and access content. As we learned from our recent tablet research, accessing content is the primary activity of tablet users, with 94% of regular users indicating they do so on a weekly basis.
As publishers are committed to delivering content to consumers in convenient formats,some are exploring partnerships with social news aggregation services such as Flipboard and Pulse. Historically, these platforms have been advertising supported, but with two recent partnerships by OPA Member’s The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, we see the potential expansion into paid content.
The New York Times recently announced that it would make its articles available through Flipboard, an app that surfaces news and social media on smartphones and tablets. Through this partnership, current New York Times subscribers are able to view articles, videos, slide shows and blog posts inside the Flipboard app. Nonsubscribers are able to see free samples of the top stories, and have the opportunity to subscribe to access all of the content.
For the Times, this partnership marks the launch of NYT Everywhere, a new strategy designed to expand its reach by offering paid subscribers full access to its content on third-party platforms. The New York Times can also explore a dual revenue model as they can also run ads with their content on Flipboard.
Denise Warren, NYTimes.com general manager and The New York Times Media Group SVP and chief advertising officer, said that with Flipboard “we are continuing our effort to extend the user-experience across a variety of platforms to reach readers where they want to access our journalism.”
Similarly, The Wall Street Journal, announced a partnership with newsreader app, Pulse. In this case, users will now be able to subscribe to three WSJ channels: a tech and a politics section for $3.99/month each, and an editorially curated feed, called the Water Cooler, for $0.99/month. For WSJ.com, which has had an online subscription model since 1997, this is the first time it is unbundling its content and reselling it this way. Until now, Pulse relied on advertising sales, so subscriptions to the Journal mark the app’s first foray into paid content.
With over 70 million tablet users downloading apps in 2012, and 23% of all tablet apps being paid for, it is clear that more and more consumers are willing to open their wallets for premium content. While online publishers continue to put significant resources behind their own applications, aggregation apps can provide a seamless way to reach new audiences and identify new sources of online monetization.
As publishers are committed to delivering content to consumers in convenient formats,some are exploring partnerships with social news aggregation services such as Flipboard and Pulse. Historically, these platforms have been advertising supported, but with two recent partnerships by OPA Member’s The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, we see the potential expansion into paid content.
The New York Times recently announced that it would make its articles available through Flipboard, an app that surfaces news and social media on smartphones and tablets. Through this partnership, current New York Times subscribers are able to view articles, videos, slide shows and blog posts inside the Flipboard app. Nonsubscribers are able to see free samples of the top stories, and have the opportunity to subscribe to access all of the content.
For the Times, this partnership marks the launch of NYT Everywhere, a new strategy designed to expand its reach by offering paid subscribers full access to its content on third-party platforms. The New York Times can also explore a dual revenue model as they can also run ads with their content on Flipboard.
Denise Warren, NYTimes.com general manager and The New York Times Media Group SVP and chief advertising officer, said that with Flipboard “we are continuing our effort to extend the user-experience across a variety of platforms to reach readers where they want to access our journalism.”
Similarly, The Wall Street Journal, announced a partnership with newsreader app, Pulse. In this case, users will now be able to subscribe to three WSJ channels: a tech and a politics section for $3.99/month each, and an editorially curated feed, called the Water Cooler, for $0.99/month. For WSJ.com, which has had an online subscription model since 1997, this is the first time it is unbundling its content and reselling it this way. Until now, Pulse relied on advertising sales, so subscriptions to the Journal mark the app’s first foray into paid content.
With over 70 million tablet users downloading apps in 2012, and 23% of all tablet apps being paid for, it is clear that more and more consumers are willing to open their wallets for premium content. While online publishers continue to put significant resources behind their own applications, aggregation apps can provide a seamless way to reach new audiences and identify new sources of online monetization.
Go to the original article...