For general news sites (that do not have the luxury of a niche market), metered paywalls have been a winning formula — they allow news sites to compete with the free news market by offering 10-20 free-to-view articles a month while still creating a paywall for users who consistently value one site’s news coverage. In addition, metered paywalls allow news sites to maintain their broad brand awareness and collect ad revenue.Now Press+, the digital arm of RR Donnelley & Sons, is reporting that reducing metered access seems to have little effect on revenues.Of Press+’s 370 clients using metered paywalls, 39% have reduced metered access from 15-20 articles a month to 10 (including The New York Times). In that time, advertising revenue has not declined, nor has brand awareness, according a press release [PDF] issued by Press+.Press+ states that there has been no downside to reducing meters, but their quarterly report does not mention whether lowering a meter improves conversions and opt-ins for paid access.However, regardless of whether it improves conversions or not, reducing free content while maintaining revenues is a win to celebrate!