News Corp bids to form paid online content consortium

by Staff, Brand Republic 21-Aug-09, 17:00

LONDON - News Corporation is in talks with rival publishers about forming a consortium to charge for online news, according to reports.

The Los Angeles Times says News Corp chief digital officer, Jonathan Miller, is believed to have met with media firms including the New York Times Company, the Washington Post Company, Hearst Corporation, and Tribune Company, which owns the Los Angeles Times.

The news follows soon after News Corp chief executive Rupert Murdoch said News Corporation will charge users to access its news websites, including The Times and The Sunday Times, from 2010.

Miller is said to have been positioning News Corp as the ideal organisation to lead the online news industry's move into charging for content in part because of the fact that it already charges for online content through the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones' business intelligence and news service Factiva, and operates other paid-for services such as satellite TV platforms Sky and Star TV.

News Corp also has the advantage over some rivals in that it is a truly global firm with its operations in the US, UK, Europe, Australia and Asia.

One idea News Corp may be proposing is a single online registration and pay model that could work across a wide range of websites so as to avoid a myriad of different systems and website registration.

Such a plan is similar to the Journalism Online venture unveiled in April by media veteran Steve Brill. Last week Journalism Online claimed more than 500 newspapers were keen to join its system whereby it would charge for content online on behalf of newspaper and magazine publishers as well as dealing with the licensing of content.

In recent weeks a number of publishers have been openly airing ideas about paid online content including the Financial Times and The Guardian in the UK.

Financial Times editor Lionel Barber said that the newspaper industry must charge for online content and argued that rival news organisations can follow the FT's subscription model.

"We think we've been a pioneer in the way we've established a frequency model charging online," Barber said.

The Guardian said it was considering launching a "members' club" that would provide extra benefits to readers, such as exclusive content or live events for an annual or monthly fee.

Guardian News & Media digital director, Emily Bell, has emphatically ruled out bringing in any kind of paywall.

Miller is also spearheading News Corp's strategy of seeking alternatives to Amazon's Kindle e-reader. Murdoch has expressed public disquiet with the terms Amazon offers content providers.

According to the LA Times Miller hinted at a wider role for News Corp when he spoke in Pasadena last month at Fortune magazine's 'Brainstorm: Tech' conference.

"In looking at all of News Corp.'s assets, it's clear that we're in a unique position to play a key role in creating new business models that will support premium journalism on digital platforms," he said.

Read more on Brand Republic

FT: people will pay for general news content

Big and bold Murdoch takes the paid content gamble

Comments

Golden Brown - 22/08/2009

Damn you Rupert, damn you to Hades!!!

Colin White, UK CEO, Oxygen8 Communications - 24/08/2009

As media consumption habits continue to change, and news publishers place more emphasis on making traditional print-based news available via the Internet, it is essential that consumers continue to have free access to online editorial. These are challenging times for the media industry but in this evolving digital world, there is actually a fantastic opportunity for newspaper groups to drive new revenue streams, grow their share of audience and increase reader loyalty. However, key to this opportunity is the ability to successfully commercialise their product offering without making readers pay for traditional news content. Instead, by adopting a model that enables money to be generated through the availability of additional chargeable service and content – for example, location-based services, mobile application downloads, IPTV services and competitions to name a few – publishers can maximise their revenues without alienating their core readership. Times may be tough, but there are some real opportunities for those publishers that are brave enough to make the staff and operational changes required to maximise the new media marketplace. Colin White, UK CEO, Oxygen8 Communications www.oxygen8.com

james thackray - 25/08/2009

I have no issue with any media owner testing different pricing strategies. In a free market supply and demand will find an equilibrium price. At the moment for most on line media that equals free which is causing serious problems for media owners historically underpinned by print. Bla bla bla............. The real issue is that this "consortium" sounds like a cartel. Media owners have been concerned about significant pricing changes because of what their desperate competitors will do in return. What's been the net effect of newspaper price wars? If they all get together "proposing is a single online registration and pay model" the door will be wide open to abuse consumers. Bye the way "it is essential that consumers continue to have free access to online editorial"?? It's not essential!!!