In the face of rising online advertising revenues, paid content may no longer be so popular.
Kate Kaye from Clickz.com reports on a survey by the UK Association of Publishers (AOP): for the first time in the survey's four-year history, the number of publishers charging for online content dropped from 63 percent last year to 37 percent this year. Moreover, the number of survey participants who don't plan on charging for content has risen to 43 percent, from 30 percent last year, and 18 percent in 2004.
Clickz.com quotes Bill Murray, chairman of UK AOP, as saying that the survey "confirms a sort of gentle shift in emphasis that has been going on for at least a year, maybe two years," during which traditional media owners have had to accept that the content they create won't always command subscription revenue.
The study also finds that display advertising accounts for 41 percent of online revenue on average -- which is the biggest chunk of online income for the group's members.
Clickz.com says that this does not mean the paid content model "has bitten the dust." The AOP census also finds revenues derived from paid content were the second-largest portion of AOP member revenues, comprising 18 percent of online income.
