Newspaper paywalls: An update
Several newspapers have initiated paywalls or other types of metering systems in the last year to combat lost ad revenue. While most of these news sites experienced (and likely anticipated) a drop in traffic, a few have actually seen an increase in unique page views.
We did some research to find the papers that launched paywalls this year (some, like Newsday and The Tulsa World, are reinstigating paywall programs from the past). We then looked at ComScore Compete data to compare each site's unique monthly page views before the paywall compared to the most recent numbers (from May), then calculated the percent change between the two. Here's what we found, ordering the news sites from the largest percent change in traffic to the smallest.
In future posts we will be looking into more analysis about the topic.
1. Tallahassee Democrat (-37.4% change in traffic)
Publisher: Gannett
Website: Tallahassee.com
Paywall initiated: July 1, 2010
Paywall specifics: $2 for 24-hour Web subscription; $20/month for "Full Content/Dual Delivery" (7-day print subscription, Web subscription + access to the online edition); $14.95/month for "Full Content/Electronic Delivery" (Web subscription + access to the online edition); $9.95/month for Web subscription
Monthly unique page views pre-paywall: 178,527 (June 2010)
Monthly unique page views post-paywall: 111,696 (May 2011)
2. Newsday (-23.5%)
Publisher: Cablevision
Website: Newsday.com
Paywall initiated: January 7, 2011
Paywall specifics: $6.39/week for 7-day print subscription, Web subscription + tablet/smartphone apps
Monthly unique page views pre-paywall: 994,103 (December 2010)
Monthly unique page views post-paywall: 760,584 (May 2011)
3. The Greenville (S.C.) News (-22.5%)
Publisher: Gannett
Website: GreenvilleOnline.com
Paywall initiated: July 1, 2010
Paywall specifics: $2 for 24-hour Web subscription, $16.46/month for "Full Content/Dual Delivery" (7-day print subscription, Web subscription + access to the online edition), $14.95/month for "Full Content/Electronic Delivery" (Web subscription + access to the online edition), $9.95/month for Web subscription, $7.95/year for access to Clemson football companion site TigersNow.com
Monthly unique page views pre-paywall: 166,804 (June 2010)
Monthly unique page views post-paywall: 129,325 (May 2011)
4. Cape Cod Times (-21.1%)
Publisher: Dow Jones Local Media Group (News Corporation)
Website: CapeCodOnline.com
Paywall initiated: November 9, 2010
Paywall specifics: $3.63/week for 7-day print + Web subscription; $3.44/week for unlimited Web access; $3.25/week for 7-day print-only subscription; $2.67/week for "Basic" Web subscription (50 articles/month + eEdition); $1.71/week for "eCapeCodTimes" subscription (10 articles/month + eEdition). Users can register for free to view 10 articles/month, or view 3 articles/month without registering.
Monthly unique page views pre-paywall: 174,797 (September 2010)
Monthly unique page views post-paywall: 137,887 (May 2011)
5. The Spectrum (St. George, Utah) (-13.9%)
Publisher: Gannett
Website: TheSpectrum.com
Paywall initiated: July 1, 2010
Paywall specifics: $2 for 24-hour Web subscription; $15/month for "Full Content/Dual Delivery" (7-day print subscription, Web subscription + access to the online edition); $14.95/month for "Full Content/Electronic Delivery" (Web subscription + access to the online edition); $9.95/month for Web subscription
Monthly unique page views pre-paywall: 63,109 (June 2010)
Monthly unique page views post-paywall: 54,323 (May 2011)
5. Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Mass.) (-13.9%)
Publisher: The New York Times Company
Website: Telegram.com
Paywall initiated: August 16, 2010
Paywall specifics: $14.95/month for 7-day print + Web access or just Web access. Users can register for free to view 10 articles/month.
Monthly unique page views pre-paywall: 276,704 (July 2010)
Monthly unique page views post-paywall: 238,242 (May 2011)
6. Concord (N.H.) Monitor (+12.7%)
Publisher: Newspapers of New England
Website: ConcordMonitor.com
Paywall initiated: May 3, 2011
Paywall specifics: $1 for 24-hour Web subscription; $17/month for 7-day print subscription + Web access; $9.99/month for Web access only. Users can register for free to view 10 articles/month.
Monthly unique page views pre-paywall: 85,486 (April 2011)
Monthly unique page views post-paywall: 96,350 (May 2011)
7. The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle (+10.1%)
Publisher: Morris Communications
Website: AugustaChronicle.com
Paywall initiated: December 6, 2010
Paywall specifics: $6.95/month for Web-only subscription, $2.95/month for print subscribers (in addition to the $16/month cost of a 7-day subscription)
Monthly unique page views pre-paywall: 190,944 (November 2010)
Monthly unique page views post-paywall: 210,286 (May 2011)
8. The New York Times (-9.5%)
Publisher: The New York Times Company
Website: NYTimes.com
Paywall initiated: March 28, 2010
Paywall specifics: $5.85/week for 7-day delivery + "All Digital Access" package (Web access + smartphone/tablet apps); $15/month for Web subscription + smartphone app; $20/month for Web subscription + iPad app; $35/month for access to all Web + app content. Twenty free articles a month for non-subscribers, those who comes to the NYT via links (search, blogs or social media) can read those articles even if they have reached their monthly limit.
Monthly unique page views pre-paywall: 18,319,521 (March 2011)
Monthly unique page views post-paywall: 16,574,976 (May 2011)
9. The Dallas Morning News (-9.1%)
Publisher: A.H. Belo Corporation
Website: DallasNews.com
Paywall initiated: March 8, 2011
Paywall specifics: $3.91/week for "Digital Bundle" (Web, eEdition, mobile, smartphone + tablet access); $2.31/week for Web subscription only; $2.31/week for eEdition only; $2.31/week for iPad edition only; $7.31/week for print subscription + Digital Bundle. A symbol next to content on the website indicates subscriber-only content.
Monthly unique page views pre-paywall: 1,572,523 (February 2011)
Monthly unique page views post-paywall: 1,429,902 (May 2011)
10. Portsmouth (N.H.) Herald (-5.4%)
Publisher: Dow Jones Local Media Group (News Corporation)
Website: SeacoastOnline.com
Paywall initiated: November 16, 2010
Paywall specifics: $4.16/week for 7-day print subscription + Web subscription + mobile access; $3.78/week for 7-day print subscription; $1.33/week for Web subscription + mobile access. Users can register for free to view 10 articles/month.
Monthly unique page views pre-paywall: 185,810 (October 2010)
Monthly unique page views post-paywall: 175,721 (May 2011)
11. Tulsa World (+4.3%)
Publisher: World Publishing Company
Website: TulsaWorld.com
Paywall initiated: April 4, 2011
Paywall specifics: $14.99/month for a yearlong Web + smartphone subscription; $15.99/month for a 6-month Web + smartphone subscription; $16.99/month for a 1-month Web + smartphone subscription; $20/month for 7-day print + Web subscription; $8.99/month for a Kindle subscription. Non-subscribers can read 10 free articles a month.
Monthly unique page views pre-paywall: 498,930 (March 2011)
Monthly unique page views post-paywall: 520,514 (May 2011)
12. Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune (-2.8%)
Publisher: Privately owned
Website: ColumbiaTribune.com
Paywall initiated: December 1, 2010
Paywall specifics: $13.97/month for 7-day print + Web subscription; $8/month for Web-only subscription; $12.97/month for print-only subscription
Monthly unique page views pre-paywall: 142,902 (November 2010)
Monthly unique page views post-paywall: 138,858 (May 2011)
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