Big Surprise Department: Free Is Popular
July 22, 2010
It turns out that a paywall was a bad idea for times.co.uk. Almost three weeks after they decided to get a little saucy and charge for their online content, web traffic has plummeted. Sounds a little like an attempt to get blood from a stone when there are so many other free places to get your news.
When all the calculations were exposed in Times loses almost 90% of online readership, the numbers work out to a loss of about 90% of the people who first stopped at the site. The recent totals also work out to just 16% of the pre registration numbers.
Maybe this is about trying to get apiece of cake from a bankrupt bakery. Maybe in a bigger sense it’s about the fact that people like free online stuff only. Either way, the times needs to stop charging.
Rob Starr, July 22, 2010
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One Response to “Big Surprise Department: Free Is Popular”
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From the Times point of view, surely 10% of the previous numbers but all paying for content is better than just giving the content away?
The payment model is clever, too, with a very cheap first month sign-up followed by a more expensive weekly figure that is only equivalent to 2 days’ of the paper version. That’s still £100 / $150 per year, not to be sniffed at if the numbers grow.