paid content | Internet Marketing Blog

Coming soon: paid YouTube channels?

When Google purchased YouTube for $1.65bn in late 2006, some wondered whether the acquisition would be the Web 2.0 equivalent of Yahoo's ill-fated billion-dollar purchase of Broadcast.com during the first .com boom.

It was hard not to be somewhat skeptical: YouTube was an expensive operation to run and was facing the same type of legal assault from Hollywood that basically killed Napster 1.0 years earlier.

by Patricio Robles 26 February 2013 16:38pm 1 comment

2013: the year of paid content?

Paid content is and has been a big business -- if you're in the right market.

Unfortunately for consumer-oriented news organizations, the right market isn't their market.

But could that be changing?

by Patricio Robles 04 January 2013 16:23pm 0 comments

New York Times cuts free articles to 10 per month

Can paid content save newspapers? For many newspapers, there is good reason to be skeptical.

But trying to get readers to pay for content is a necessary move and naturally, major dailies like The New York Times are having an easier go of it.

by Patricio Robles 20 March 2012 15:23pm 0 comments

Are newspapers in the US doomed?

The past decade has been tough for newspapers, but many newspaper execs are arguably more upbeat about the future than one might expect.

There may be a need for that optimism, but it might also be completely unfounded if new figures about newspaper revenue in 2011 are any indication.

by Patricio Robles 19 March 2012 19:01pm 0 comments

Will relationship building cost newspapers too much?

The New York Times is giving pay wall skeptics reason to reconsider their skepticism. Despite questions about the company's paywall strategy, the daily has managed to lure some 325,000 paying subscribers.

That's good news for a newspaper that some believed might not survive.

by Patricio Robles 06 February 2012 18:15pm 1 comment

Six things to learn from the Louis CK experiment

Can a prominent comedian shake up the comedy business by producing his own event and selling it to consumers online in digital format DRM-free? Thanks to Louis CK's experiment, we now know the answer is yes.

More than 100,000 comedy fans have snapped up 'Louis CK: Live at the Beacon Theater' for $5, earning the comedian a healthy profit and sparking a discussion about digital content, business models and pricing.

Here's what you can learn from Louis CK's experiment.

by Patricio Robles 19 December 2011 10:11am 1 comment

Netflix enters the U.K. and Ireland as it stumbles in the U.S.

Yesterday, Netflix announced that its aggressive international expansion plans will bring its internet movie and television streaming service to the U.K. and Ireland in early 2012.

The announcement should have been a bright spot for a company which has been flying high for the past several years. But it was overshadowed by a bout of bad news: last quarter, Netflix lost 800,000 subscribers in the U.S.

by Patricio Robles 25 October 2011 12:14pm 0 comments

Publisher tablet revenue growing more meaningful

Investing millions to launch an iPad-only publication may prove to be one of the best ways of making a small fortune from a large fortune, but for traditional publishers that have been hawking their wares on the iPad, Kindle and NOOK, tablets are starting to have an impact.

That's according to two executives from Condé Nast and Hearst who took part in a panel at the American Magazine Conference.

Both indicated that their companies are close to achieving $10m in revenue from tablets.

by Patricio Robles 06 October 2011 16:32pm 0 comments

The Daily's iPad-only strategy isn't working

Earlier this year, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. announced that it was making a significant bet on tablet devices.

The bet: that an iPad-only news publication could launch and thrive at a time when many established news publications were struggling to survive.

"New times demand new journalism," Murdoch proclaimed. And with eight figures in investment in The Daily, he stated confidently, "we believe The Daily will be the model for how stories are told and consumed in this digital age".

Half a year later, however, The Daily appears to be off to a slower start than Murdoch may have anticipated.

by Patricio Robles 29 September 2011 15:17pm 1 comment

Q&A: Tomas Bella of Piano Media on the paywall that's working

While many publishers in the West struggle to build profitable paywalls, I recently reported that a paywall in the East may provide a blueprint for success.

That paywall was erected in Slovakia by a company called Piano Media. It brought together nine of Slovakia's largest news publishers, and the early results are impressive given the size and characteristics of the Slovakian market.

by Patricio Robles 20 July 2011 15:08pm 0 comments