Revenue for Content and Mobile Apps

Recently the media world has been abuzz about Rupert Murdoch’s decision to charge for the content on his News Corp websites. Discussion on this topic is not new, however Mr. Murdoch has been the first to make the big leap for a company the size of News Corp. Publishers that once saw revenue streams from printed products dream about being able to charge for their online content. But how many of them can actually charge for content? If you can’t make money for your content (outside of advertising), how can publishers bring back revenue beyond advertising?

I believe the Wall Street Journal is one exception on a very short list of publishers that can get away with charging for their content. In order to charge for the information you put online, you need to be pretty sure it’s exclusive. The Wall Street Journal is regarded as one of the top publications for business news. I believe that many people would pay for their content as there aren’t many other sites out there that bring the same level of credibility and business expertise. What about the other sites included under the News Corp umbrella? Dow Jones and NY Post don’t look to me like sites that will rake in revenue from subscriptions. What can you get from the NY Post that you can’t get from the Times? I applaud Mr. Murdoch for the bold approach he’s taking with his news sites. I hope that he’s successful, but I fear his ambition is stretched a bit too far.

If most publishers can’t charge for content on their sites, what can they do to bring in additional revenue? The first is obvious (and has been done for a long time), charge for advertising. Okay, now that we’re beyond that, what else is out there? Can publishers charge for a portion of the content on their sites? Maybe subscription to a single writer or critic, archived articles, or exclusive interviews? This might work, but I don’t believe it’s the big answer many are looking for. I believe that the answer lies in mobile. With mobile technology growing at a rapid pace (thank you Steve Jobs), mobile applications can give publishers tools that other websites cannot yet offer. Perfect example: CNN. CNN just recently launched a “paid” mobile application. While the NY Times, USA Today, and WSJ are all offering their mobile applications for free, CNN is selling their app at $1.99. What does this marginal price get you? Some pretty cool features; streaming video of programs and interviews, real time weather forecasts, alerts, social media integration, and my favorite, the ability to follow topics that are most interesting to you. Mobile is my answer to publishers looking to increase revenues. Build an innovative, and dynamic mobile application that allows users to interact and share your information. The more you can offer that others aren’t yet, the better chance you have at getting back that revenue lost from subscription models.