Paid content news and features 
Paid content merger to provide better data for publishers
As Piano Media and Press+ join forces, newly appointed CEO Kelly Leach says publishers need to understand what type of content will make people more likely to subscribe
Posted by Catalina Albeanu on 10/09/14The Times 'moving towards profit' since paywall launch
According to Alan Hunter, head of digital at The Times and Sunday Times, Times Newspapers has moved from a £72 million loss in 2009 to £6 million for trading year ending June 2013
Posted by Abigail Edge on 26/03/14NYT Now app to offer tailored content throughout the day
The news outlet's new app will be 'an express version of New York Times journalism'
Posted by Abigail Edge on 26/03/14Lessons from 'one package, one price' paywall in Norway
The introduction of the freemium digital model at Schibsted-owned newspaper Fædrelandsvennen in Norway, was driven by a focus on culture and open communication
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 25/03/14Why The Information chose to follow a paywall model
Jessica Lessin, founder and editor-in-chief of The Information, outlines the site's approach to paywalls, which she believes should be driven by high-quality content
Posted by Abigail Edge on 19/03/14How news outlets can make native ads work for them
A native advertising session at Digital Media Strategies shared best practice tips for media outlets, and highlighted what mainstream media newsrooms in particular can bring to the table
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 05/03/14New York Times to add 'new products' for digital subscribers
Research by the New York Times has identified opportunities to target both non-subscribers and 'devoted Times readers' with a lower priced product and premium offering
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 04/03/14ProPublica opens Data Store with free and 'premium' data
ProPublica is looking to data as a possible revenue stream as it launches an online Data Store as 'a bit of an experiment' to test demand
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 27/02/14Why Kyiv Post is to raise digital subscription fee
Having dropped its paywall during the ongoing protests in Kiev, the Kyiv Post has reintroduced payment for some content and plans to increase the subscription fee
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 28/01/14The Sun reports more than 117k digital subscribers
In the first release of digital subscriber statistics for The Sun, which launched its paywall in August, it reports 'nearly 102,000' digital-only subscribers, plus those who sign-up via newspaper codes
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 06/12/13'What I learnt by launching a web magazine'
Adam Westbrook, digital publisher and producer
Posted by Adam Westbrook on 28/11/13Long-form publisher Matter stops charging for articles
Matter, which had adopted a micro-payments model when it launched a year ago, was bought by blogging platform Medium earlier this year
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 22/11/13Android Newsstand app 'important development' for publishers
The new app allows readers to sign up for digital subscriptions to newspapers and magazines, as well as being a discovery platform for new free news sites
Posted by Sarah Marshall on 21/11/13The Times launches on-site Twitter directories
The collections feature an index of staff Twitter accounts, for The Times and Sunday Times, with users able to filter results based on the reporter's area of expertise
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 18/11/13Editor of The Sun: 'BuzzFeed is the best thing on the internet'
David Dinsmore, editor of The Sun, on why he likens BuzzFeed to The Sun, and how the news outlet is working to better understand its audience
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 05/11/13Native advertising: Separating church and state
How news organisations are building commercial teams of former journalists who create paid-for content on behalf of brands
Posted by Sarah Marshall on 04/11/13AOL proposes publisher guidelines on native advertising
The report urges transparency and the clear signposting of sponsored content
Posted by Sarah Marshall on 22/10/13The Times reports 150k digital subscribers
The Times and Sunday Times have 350,000 subscribers to print and digital bundles
Posted by Sarah Marshall on 17/10/13Boston Globe plans Facebook-like 'stream of content'
Free-to-access site Boston.com to feature personalised stream and will adopt responsive design
Posted by Sarah Marshall on 08/10/13Next >
#wef12: CEO of Australia's Fairfax Media encourages publishers to make 'the big calls now'
Chief executive of Australia's Fairfax Media details the process of restructuring the business and says the newspaper will be placed 'at the end of the process'
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 4 September 2012#wef12: WSJ's Raju Narisetti on 'copycat' paywalls and the 'golden' future of digital advertising
Speaking at the World Editors Forum on Monday (3 September), managing editor for the Wall Street Journal’s digital network Raju Narisetti said he had concerns about many US “copycat” paywalls, and whether they would be able to generate the necessary revenues to succeed financially. Instead, he predicted that “the golden age of digital advertising lies [...]
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 4 September 2012#wef12: 5 steps from New York Times Company on building digital subs model
The latest results reported by the New York Times Company showed a total of more than 500,ooo paid digital subscribers. This was an increase on the 454,000 paying subscribers recorded a year after NYT.com launched its online subscriptions model, which refers to subscribers across the New York Times and International Herald Tribune. And this is not [...]
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 3 September 2012#paywalls12 - The Economist: 'We have doubled content in two years'
'We want to be ahead of of the game when people move from print to digital', says vice president of customer engagement at the Economist
Posted by Sarah Marshall on 23 February 2012#paywalls12 - Looking outside: five paid-content lessons from Denmark, Slovakia and Slovenia
Five lessons from Denmark's largest private media company and from Piano Media, which is behind Slovakia and Slovenia's joint paywalls
Posted by Sarah Marshall on 23 February 2012#paywalls12 - Niche content paywalls: three success stories
How Lloyds List, Incisive Media and Haymarket's motorsport titles are making money from digital content
Posted by Sarah Marshall on 23 February 2012Media release: Piano Media raises paywall price with 'steady revenue' in place
Piano Media has announced that it is raising the price of the national paywall it established in Slovakia last year, a move its CEO Tomas Bella says in a release was planned for once it was 'accepted'
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 14 February 2012#news2011: Paywalls - 'the solution is going to be unique and individual'
The discussion at the Global Editors Network news summit looked at paywalls and paid-for apps
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 29 November 2011Sydney Morning Herald: The Australian to reveal paywall details this week
The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that News Limited (the Australian arm of News Corporation) will officially announce its paywall for the Australian this week, after it outlined plans for a ‘freemium’ subscription model for its online content back in June. It had already been announced that the model will offer access to some content [...]
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 18 October 2011#wef11: Publishers share paywall strategies and lessons learnt
“Don’t be afraid” – this was just one of many messages given by a panel of publishers at the World Editors Forum today, who shared their experiences of erecting “paywalls” or what came to be termed by the panel as “leaky walls”. The panel featured three news outlets which have all established paid-content systems in [...]
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 15 October 2011OJR: Apps v eBooks - are we missing paid content opportunity?
On the Online Journalism Review Robert Niles assess the missed opportunities for news organisations overlooking value of eBooks
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 14 September 2011News International to rethink 'iron-curtain' paywall approach for the Sun
During a debate at City University London, News International's head of marketing has revealed the Sun online will remain outside the paywall until a suitable paid content model is found, while the Guardian's media editor confirmed a commitment to a free website
Posted by Ben Whitelaw on 10 May 2011Slovakian media goes behind the paywall
Yesterday nine news outlets in Slovakia joined together to put up a joint paywall in front of parts of its content – some more than others – as part of a new premium content subscription model by Piano Media. The platform means users pay a monthly fee of €2.90 (.20) for unlimited access to all [...]
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 19 April 2011Will the Shropshire and Wolverhampton walls pay?
Part-paywalls have gone up at the UK’s biggest-selling regional daily, the Wolverhampton-based Express and Star, and at sister title, the Shropshire Star. Breaking news will remain free but other content, such as football reports, are now behind the wall. But will Wolverhampton and Shropshire pay? At £2.19 more a month than the Times, is £12.18 [...]
Posted by Sarah Marshall on 5 April 2011Bloomberg: US publisher Gannett trialing paid-content model
US publisher Gannett (which is parent company to Newsquest in the UK) is trying out a paid-content model at three of its newspaper websites while it considers a broader online payment model, Bloomberg reported this week. Chief executive officer Craig Dubow told Bloomberg that Gannett is likely to experiment more before making a decision about [...]
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 8 March 2011Telegraph web rumours: Is metered charging the best way forward?
Speculation that Telegraph Media Group is planning to start charging for some of its online content has been brought up again today by Marketing magazine. The magazine’s report claims that the publisher is talking to digital agencies about overhauling Telegraph.co.uk and is considering a hybrid part-paid, part-free model from September. Officially, TMG says it is [...]
Posted by Paul McNally on 22 February 2011European publishers to hold meeting over Apple's proposed subscriptions change
Earlier this month it was alleged that Apple had told a number of European newspapers that soon they would not be able to offer print subscribers free access to iPad editions through the App Store. According to this report by Apple Insider, Apple is keen to make the change to prevent publishers cutting it out [...]
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 2 February 2011Rumour mill cranks up over upcoming New York Times 'paywall'
Rumoured details of the yet-to-be-launched New York Times ‘paywall’ are starting to emerge, with the Wall Street Journal reporting today on possible subscription plans, such as a month for a digital bundle package or less than half of that for a web-only deal. Under the new system, expected to be rolled out next month, [...]
Posted by Rachel Bartlett on 25 January 2011Joanna Geary: Microsharing – a future we're ignoring?
Joanna Geary raises a new angle on the paid content debate on her blog. The concept is Microsharing: where purchased online content or data is licensed to be shared with selected others. Is it a payment model which could change not only the way we view paying for content, but sharing it as well? In [...]
Posted by Alice Vincent on 5 January 2011Ofcom to allow product placement on UK TV
Broadcast industry regulator Ofcom has announced that product placement will be allowed in UK TV programmes from 28 February 2011. The rules for paid-for references on radio broadcasts have also been revised. Full news release on Ofcom’s website…
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It takes commitment: Lessons from Piano Media's paywalls
Piano chief executive Kelly Leach outlines key factors that determine the success of a paywall
Posted by Catalina Albeanu on 21/04/15