Projo Going to Paywall - Here is a Peek
Saturday, July 16, 2011
The Providence Journal could begin charging users to read its digital content on projo.com as early as Sept. 1, GoLocalProv has learned.
The plan, which executives at the Journal’s parent company A.H. Belo announced in May, would follow a path set by several of the nation’s largest newspapers, including the New York Times and Journal sister paper, the Dallas Morning News, which moved to a digital paywall earlier this year.
Pay-to-read models have long been viewed as a savior for traditional print media, whose well-documented struggles have come in part as a result of a dramatic loss of both advertising revenue and paid circulation. The Journal is hoping the paywall will push readers to pay online or spend $400 for home delivery.
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But results have been mixed. The Wall Street Journal, the nation’s most well-read financial newspaper, has considered its move to a paywall to be a wild success, thanks in part to its niche content. The paper has reported earning nearly $100 million in annual subscriptions online.
Others, like New York’s Newsday, have struggled to adjust. The paper, which launched its paywall in late 2009, became a virtual laughing stock when, after three months, reports leaked that the website had just 35 paying subscribers.
Because they have only just begun implementing a digital paywall, the Times and the Dallas Morning News are still waiting to see if the decision will turn out to be a profitable one. By the end of April, the Times, whose plan allows for readers to read 20 stories per month at no charge, had reached 100,000 subscribers.
Dallas Style Program
The cost for access to the Providence Journal’s content is likely to be similar to its sister paper in Dallas. If that is the case, Projo.com -which recently updated its mobile platform, has not implemented a major redesign of its entire website yet- would begin charging for “Subscriber Content Access.”
Here is how the Dallas Morning News’ program works:
1) If a reader goes to the site and clicks on a story that requires a fee (it is marked with a little “D”, before it can be read – access to the story is blocked unless there is a subscription.
2) The newspaper now charges $16.95 per month to access content from a home computer, or any digital device like an iPad or a smart phone, or $9.95 per month for just one digital platform.
3) Most local articles are restricted and require a paid access while stories delivered from wire serves like the Reuters or the Associated Press – which are accessible through numerous news organizations – are not blocked by the paywall.
Providence Journal and Projo.com Losing Audience
So will Rhode Islanders pay for their online news? For nearly two centuries, the Journal has been the newspaper of record in the state and for much of that time, it has been the only media outlet with enough resources to cover the entire state.
But the newspaper’s circulation on weekdays is now reported to be just 96,000 per weekday, which includes promotional programs as well as deliveries to schools. The Journal’s online traffic as also suffered over the past year. While still the most-visited news website in the state, projo.com’s unique visitors decreased by 15.69% over the past year, according to compete.com.
This drop in web traffic has come at a time when peer news organizations saw significant growth as consumers moved to rely more heavily on digital news sources. Channel 10, the top rated local television channel, has seen its website traffic on turnto10.com increase by 73% over that time.
Just over one year into GoLocalProv’s existence, unique traffic has risen by 220 percent.
Impact of the Paywall to Dallas Morning News
While a move to a digital paywall is viewed as one of the few ways to stay afloat in the ever changing media landscape, the performance of its sister paper in recent months may give the Journal some pause.
Since the site began charging readers in March, dallasnews.com has seen a significant loss in traffic. The number of unique visitors decreased by 20% according to data from compete.com. A.H. Belo has yet to report income or measures relating to the implementation of the program.
One area that has especially struggled is the sports department. Similar to the Journal, the Dallas morning news used to be the only game in town when it came to covering the world’s most famous NFL franchise as well as the Mavericks in the NBA and the Stars in the NHL.
But last year, ESPN launched one of its hyperlocal sites in the city and has been able to make major inroads in the market, especially following the Mavericks’ championship season. The upcoming football season may explain a lot, as it will be the first year with the Dallas Morning News charging for content and ESPN Dallas’ second year covering the market.
While the Journal isn’t likely to fall flat like Newsday, it is likely see a decrease in user traffic at the onset of its paywall experiment. The hope is that it will regain its following as readers become more adjusted to paying for online content.
But much like with the Dallas Morning News and the Times, the jury is still out.
Note: Providence Journal publisher Howard Sutton did not return a request for comment.
