Will readers who routinely access publications online be willing to pay for the privilege? The Financial Times has been using metered pricing for some time. Every time a reader clicks onto the site, the "meter" starts ticking. If the reader hasn't registered with FT, he or she can read only 1 article per month for free. If the reader has registered, he or she can read 10 articles per month for free. Paid subscribers receive full access to the entire news and archive sites, with no restrictions on the number of articles that can be viewed.
So far, FT's pricing policy has served the publication well. Over time, FT has made its metering more restrictive, not less restrictive, and the publication currently has more than 120,000 paid subscribers, an increase of 22% compared with the previous year, according to Advertising Age.
Now the Times Online is introducing a pricing system for its online content, and the French Le Figaro and L’Express also have plans to charge for online access. The New York Times is readying a 2011 pricing policy for online access, as well. Will the publications succeed in building profits from what readers now regard as free sources?
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Companion blog to the textbook by Marian Burk Wood includes links to resources for marketing planning
Current edition
Updated list of links
About the Author
- Marian B. Wood
- After holding executive positions in corporate and non-profit marketing with Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, and the National Retail Federation, I became a textbook author at the dawn of the Internet age. Pearson Education publishes my college textbook, 'Essential Guide to Marketing Planning.'
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