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Only seven percent of Americans would pay for online news
The report has some other goodies: most of us browse multiple sites without bias, but a full 35% have a 'favourite site' -- with 65% of those with favourites checking in at least twice a day to check for updates. Most telling, however, is that only 19% of those with favourite news sites would pay for content. That's what passes for loyalty today, eh?
I don't think the report tells us anything particularly groundbreaking, but it's always nice to have numbers that back up the overarching societal sentiment. Basically, don't block ads on sites that you like -- and even then, the jury is still out on whether ad revenue is a long-term solution.
Starting January 2011 the New York Times will bring forth its pay wall. The media industry collectively holds its breath.
Comments
8
Subscribe to commentsMark BMar 15th 2010 11:13AM
Seb - I'm confuzzled by your data graphic. (15%? 7%?) Can you clarify?
Sebastian AnthonyMar 15th 2010 11:21AM
It's another statistic -- it was the only pie chart in the report, so I lifted it!
The graph is about whether people would pay for their favourite websites.
Mark BMar 15th 2010 11:26AM
Ah ha! Thanks! Very telling statistics...no matter the source! :-)
David BMar 15th 2010 11:46AM
I wonder how "19% of those with favourite news sites would pay for content" compares to the percentage in any given metropolitan area who subscribe (or buy at a newstand) a newspaper? Maybe 19% isn't that far off the mark. (This may be outlined in the Pew report; don't have time to read it at the moment...)
reader1Mar 15th 2010 11:54AM
People will pay when there is no free alternative. The Web has no future. In 5-10 years, people will be getting all their digital content from stores, like the iTunes Store or the App Store. There's nothing you can get from the Web that you can't get from a digital store.
VolomanMar 15th 2010 5:33PM
lawl
http://thepiratebay.org/search/new%20york%20times/0/99/0
dreamscape86Mar 16th 2010 11:34AM
That's a very 20th century way of thinking in a 21st century world. In a world of widespread copyright infringement, (where the vast majority of infringers don't have any moral qualms about it), the future lies in coming up with new ways of indirect monetization, not in more direct ways to make people pay.
Sites like Hulu are proof that people are willing to follow the rules if they can get content that is good quality and available when they want it. The trick is getting people to "pay" without actually billing them.
glaciaMar 17th 2010 4:39PM
What do you mean? People are paying right now or there wouldn't be content. It's simply an indirect payment methodology. These type of polls are comically meaningless.
Would I pay directly for the content I'm getting currently? Of course not... look at all those crappy ads. Would I pay $100 per day if the ads were gone? Of course not. Would I pay $.01 per day if the ads were gone but I had to mail in a check. Of course not. Would I pay $.02 per day if the ads were gone and payments were convenient? Hmmm maybe. Would I pay $.02 per day if the ads were gone and only paid for days that I actually logged on? You've got my attention. Show me how it works...