The Hidden Truth Behind Rupert Murdoch's Vision of a ‘Free’ Wall Street Journal

Internet content marketing expert Bill Baird predicts that the Wall Street Journal will move towards providing higher-value, paid subscription-driven content based on the two subscription business models uncovered in his studies.

Based on our Web studies, this news has as much to do with competitive messaging and Murdoch's relentless ‘Thirst for World Domination’ as it does the future of Web subscription products. He's sending a loud warning message to his advertising competitors, especially the financial portals and the New York Times itself, which has been a target of his competitive desire for years Look at the timing and public nature of Murdoch's ruminations, which began last year when rumors began to fly about the New York Times’s plans to make its own 'Select' content available for free, instead for a fee, in order to increase ad sales page views (which it formally announced last September). Over time in our studies, two very successful business models for subscription content have emerged – but they’re limited to two very specific types of content We are entering an age of ‘Information Commoditization,’ which excludes ubiquitous, undifferentiated mass media content from high-growth subscription revenue models. The top-tier, mass-media outlets with such content have realized that they’re better off adding more pages of free content and making their money from the added page views. In short, they’ll use free content as the ‘bait’ to draw visitors, subsidized by ad sales Then, they’ll market narrower, higher-value subscription products based on a new subscription content model. The first business model is based on well-organized, mission-critical, decision-making information that is exclusive and timely. Examples of sites with this type of content business model include ConsumerReports.org, Ancestry.com and Morningstar.com. The sites which we study that fit these two models continue to show healthy growth. So, as you can see, ‘free’ is not quite as free as one might think

(PRWEB) April 3, 2008 -- Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has repeatedly announced his controversial desire to make News Corp’s Wall Street Journal paid subscription content available for free on the Web. Is this a sign that ALL information on the Web is destined to become free?

''Far from it,'' claims Internet content marketing expert Bill Baird. "Based on our Web studies, this news has as much to do with competitive messaging and Murdoch's relentless ‘Thirst for World Domination’ as it does the future of Web subscription products."

“He's sending a loud warning message to his advertising competitors, especially the financial portals and the New York Times itself, which has been a target of his competitive desire for years,” says Baird, who is president of Connecticut-based Baird Direct Marketing, Inc. “Look at the timing and public nature of Murdoch's ruminations, which began last year when rumors began to fly about the New York Times’s plans to make its own 'Select' content available for free, instead for a fee, in order to increase ad sales page views (which it formally announced last September).”

“Over time in our studies, two very successful business models for subscription content have emerged – but they’re limited to two very specific types of content,” Baird says. “We are entering an age of ‘Information Commoditization,’ which excludes ubiquitous, undifferentiated mass media content from high-growth subscription revenue models. The top-tier, mass-media outlets with such content have realized that they’re better off adding more pages of free content and making their money from the added page views.”

So, what will ultimately be the outcome of Murdoch’s decision with the Wall Street Journal?

Baird has been predicting since last autumn that the newspaper will indeed migrate more editorial content in front of its subscription wall to draw advertising page views and e-mail registration. But he also continues to predict that the Journal will move towards providing higher-value, paid subscription-driven content based on the two subscription business models uncovered in his studies.

“In short, they’ll use free content as the ‘bait’ to draw visitors, subsidized by ad sales,” Baird says. “Then, they’ll market narrower, higher-value subscription products based on a new subscription content model.”

Baird describes the two subscription content models with the highest frequency of success as providing either “mission-critical, actionable information” or “interactive functionality.”

“The first business model is based on well-organized, mission-critical, decision-making information that is exclusive and timely. Examples of sites with this type of content business model include ConsumerReports.org, Ancestry.com and Morningstar.com.”

The second type of successful subscription content from Baird’s studies provides high-value interactive functionality that’s exclusive to the Web. As examples, he points to Salesforce.com, GoToMeeting.com and Linkedin. “The sites which we study that fit these two models continue to show healthy growth.”

“So, as you can see, ‘free’ is not quite as free as one might think,” he concludes.

Bill Baird, president of Baird Direct Marketing, Inc., is an expert in the use of digital direct marketing tactics to generate audience and revenue from publisher content and services on the Web. He is also the creator of SPARKwatch, a best practice research and consulting service for Web publishers. He can be reached at (203) 838-5444 or at http://www.bairddirect.com.

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