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ESPN Insider and Other Online Services

yuichiyuichi Urban sprawl 11,332 Posts
edited November 2007 in Strut Central
Well at least in print media, more is shifting obviously to the online arena, and ESPN.com is one of those sites where you have to pay for more in-depth information. Do any of yall use this? Are we going to see more subscriber-oriented sites popping up in the near future? Just curious.

  Comments

  • drewnicedrewnice 5,465 Posts
    Are we going to see more subscriber-oriented sites popping up in the near future?

    Yes. It's the next way for people to get paid besides selling ad space, which can be tricky on the net. What gets me is these music blogs like anditdontstop and 4 Brothers Beats that go "invitation only" and either don't respond to your request or never post info on how to stay connected to them. What's the point?
  • BrianBrian 7,618 Posts
    they're probably overwhelmed with people asking for an invite
  • jleejlee 1,539 Posts
    I know for sure it will never be solely subscription base online. too much in advertisement money is lost when you have a subscription only online model. Case in point WSJ, which arguably has the best on-line subscription program (from the company's standpoint). They are planning on making it a free (or hybrid) subscription process, primarily because their limited traffic doesn't entice ad companies to put millions into their online site.

    i suspect a hybrid model, like espn & nyt will be the most common for the years to come. attract most of the ad dollars by saying you get 10M hits to your website each day, but also try to take in some other monies by offering "special" online offers.
  • yuichiyuichi Urban sprawl 11,332 Posts
    I know for sure it will never be solely subscription base online. too much in advertisement money is lost when you have a subscription only online model. Case in point WSJ, which arguably has the best on-line subscription program (from the company's standpoint). They are planning on making it a free (or hybrid) subscription process, primarily because their limited traffic doesn't entice ad companies to put millions into their online site.

    i suspect a hybrid model, like espn & nyt will be the most common for the years to come. attract most of the ad dollars by saying you get 10M hits to your website each day, but also try to take in some other monies by offering "special" online offers.

    Makes perfect sense. I can understand how companies like ESPN and big business publications can charge for a user fee, because they often times have specialized knowledge. How much is say the WSJ monthly rate?
  • jleejlee 1,539 Posts
    i think its about $100 for a year.

    Murdoch is pretty adamant about making it free. And he may get some blow back for that as people will inevitably think he is pandering content to advertisers (which he probably will).

    In reality FT has a hybrid model which WSJ will likely follow.

    Interesting recent article about this here:

    http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10150344
  • yuichiyuichi Urban sprawl 11,332 Posts
    i think its about $100 for a year.

    Murdoch is pretty adamant about making it free. And he may get some blow back for that as people will inevitably think he is pandering content to advertisers (which he probably will).

    In reality FT has a hybrid model which WSJ will likely follow.

    Interesting recent article about this here:

    http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10150344

    What's FT?

    Interesting stuff. Thanks for that link, i'll check it when i get back home.
  • jleejlee 1,539 Posts
    Financial Times (or aka as the 'pink paper').

    basically the biggest competition to the WSJ.
  • pointmanpointman 1,042 Posts
    Financial Times (or aka as the 'pink paper').

    basically the biggest competition to the WSJ.

    FT is a great paper for those who've not read it. Not just a stocks and business paper by any means. They do a killer job on international events.
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