In terms of paid content, the New York Times has definitely been there, got the t-shirt, and made a successful business from that t-shirt. But first they tried a lot of different t-shirts.
We tested 100 different bundles with price points and content offers, then backed into the most profitable one. - Paul Smurl, NYTimes #DME13
— Garrett Goodman (@GarrettGoodman) April 16, 2013
Their success with paid digital content has helped level out their circulation and publishers (and press) were waving their smartphones and tablets in the air to catch this photo.
— SarahMarshall3 (@SarahMarshall3) April 16, 2013
NYT circulation graph - showing print circulation decline slowing after paywall launch #dme13 twitter.com/SarahMarshall3…
It's often forgotten how many registered users they had before the pay wall was introduced, and these are now the target audience for a range of targeted bundles and offers.
We’ve converted about 1 ½ - 2 % of our US audience to paid subscribers. We're now looking at price points to grow - P. Smurl, NYTimes #DME13
— Garrett Goodman (@GarrettGoodman) April 16, 2013
At Axel Springer's Bild, its another story. They are in pre-launch phase for a freemium model, most likely using their recent purchase of Bundesliga highlights.
The Content is our USP > Not the paper– D. Hopfen, Bild Digital #DME13
— Andreas Freydl (@AndreasFreydl) April 16, 2013
At least Bild will not be playing copy cat like US publishers who leapt on the metered model at an early stage - perhaps because the Press+ technology made it so temptingly easy. Raju Narisetti was following the debate in his new role high in the echelons of WSJ and NewsCorp.
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And good for @nytimes which sells product nationally @chrisroper: Since NYT paywall launched, 600+ US papers have followed suit. #dme13
— Raju Narisetti (@rajunarisetti) April 16, 2013
Press+ rivals Piano Media were quick to spot the big story.
#DME13: NYT considering cheaper digital subscription option sco.lt/6CqUqH #paidcontent #paywall
— Piano Media (@pianosystem) April 18, 2013
And if you're wondering why there are not more tweets above for Brooke at Republic Media and Thomas at FAZ - that's because you can download their video interviews and tweet yourself!