Earlier this week Arkansas Business reported that the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is relaxing its paywall, giving nonsubscribers five free stories per month. Previously, as explained in our case study of ArkansasOnline.com, the newspaper offered four subscription packages available (print + online, online only, Sunday-plus and an online day pass good for 24 hours of access). The only free content available was Web-specific content such as blogs, videos, and articles from the wire services like the Associated Press. None of the free content came from the print edition of the paper.
Emulating metered paywalls like The New York Times and the Washington Post, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette will begin giving nonsubscribers five free stories per month that were produced for the print edition. Previously, that content was only available to subscribers. The newspaper’s competition, the Arkansas Times, put up a metered paywall in August 2013, offering 10 free blog views per month.
According to the Arkansas Business article, the rationale for the metered paywall – versus a hard paywall – is to bring more readers to the website to read the newspaper content, which currently accounts for less than 10% of total traffic to the site.
In addition, the newspaper will make changes to the print product, including paring down the stock and mutual fund listings to about 800 listings. The full set of listings will still be available online. Reducing the number of listings in the print edition will save the newspaper money, as well as allow for later deadlines before the newspaper has to be formatted and sent to press. This will allow for a print edition with more timely news.
Insider Take:
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette was one of the early adopters of the paywall in 2001, opting for a hard paywall with no free articles. While it sustained an initial drop in traffic, subscribers rebounded, eager to consume the quality, statewide and local content the paper was known for. This strategy worked for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for many years, so it is interesting to see them change the subscription model now.
However, we think it is a smart move. They are using their traffic stats and knowledge of reader preferences to tailor their products to meet their subscribers’ needs. Opting for a metered paywall shows that the newspaper is paying attention to its competition and following the best practices of newspapers that have been successful with that model. We’ll follow this story to see how revenue and subscriber and nonsubscriber stats change with these adaptations. Watch our blog for updates!
