Some of the leading minds in the publishing business explore the changing nature of paywalls and paid-for content online
Are paywalls and subscription models the right solution for monetising digital content? As more and more American newspapers are starting to charge for access to online content, the question on many content owners’ minds is how best to implement such systems. Are mobile platforms the issue to focus on, should publications build paywalls around their best writers, or is a focus on the customer the only way to win?
This panel attempts to uncover the latest thinking behind paid content online and find out what considerations cross content owners’ minds when deciding how to monetise their content. Questions covered include:
- How have the early iterations of the paywall been usurped by more sophisticated, data-driven models?
- Can paywalls work in the same way for online national newspapers as they do for regional and niche publications?
- How do the complexities of audience behaviour and multi-platform viewing change the way a paywall behaves?
- What’s the tradeoff between subscriptions and advertising, traffic and search visibility?
Panelists include:
- Robert Andrews, ex senior editor, international, paidContent/GigaOM
- Heiko Bleeker, partner strategy and business development, Station 10
- Nick Blunden, global digital publisher, The Economist
- Gregg Hano, CEO, Mag+
- Timo Ketonen, project manager, doctoral candidate, EDGE research group
- Michael Nevradakis, PHD. researcher, University of Texas
- Jeremy Phillips, co-founder and COO, StrategyEye
- Tien Tzuo, founder and CEO, Zuora