Home Report Suggests Newspaper Paywalls Have Little Impact on Traffic

Report Suggests Newspaper Paywalls Have Little Impact on Traffic

To paywall or not paywall. That has been the question that newspapers and magazines have been asking over the last few years, debating whether or not a move to charge readers to view online content would help or harm the publications’ existence.

According to some early data from Journalism Online, an e-commerce system of sorts that allows newspapers to charge their regular online visitors, suggest that the paywall may not be the kiss of death to ad revenue and traffic that some had predicted.

It’s worth noting that the sample size for Journalism Online’s data was small – only about 2 dozen small- and medium-sized newspapers – but the findings suggest that these newspapers were successful with their paywall implementations. It reports that monthly unique visits to these websites fell zero to 7%, while page views fell zero to 20%. No publishers reported a decline in advertising revenue.

However, those newspapers that reported little impact from a paywall were those whose restricted access was only partial. Rather than locking down and charging visitors for all content, these newspapers had instead limited the number of articles that visitors could read for free each month, making it clear to their readership that most wouldn’t be affected by the paywall restrictions.

“If you set this meter conservatively which we urge people to do, it’s a nonevent for 85, 90, 95 percent of the people who come to your Web site,” Journalism Online’s Steve Brill tells The New York Times. Most papers, says Brill, set a limit on the number of free articles somewhere between five and 20 per month, and charged a monthly subscription fee from around $3.95 to $10.95.

The findings seem to support the argument that people are willing to pay for some online content, but not all of it. But it’s unlikely to end the debate on how and if newspapers – not just the major dailies like The Wall Street Journal and The Times, but smaller papers like the ones in this study – can move from free to pay (or partial pay) without losing readership and revenue.

Photo credits: State Library of New South Wales, via Flickr

About ReadWrite’s Editorial Process

The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Get the biggest tech headlines of the day delivered to your inbox

    By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe anytime.

    Tech News

    Explore the latest in tech with our Tech News. We cut through the noise for concise, relevant updates, keeping you informed about the rapidly evolving tech landscape with curated content that separates signal from noise.

    In-Depth Tech Stories

    Explore tech impact in In-Depth Stories. Narrative data journalism offers comprehensive analyses, revealing stories behind data. Understand industry trends for a deeper perspective on tech's intricate relationships with society.

    Expert Reviews

    Empower decisions with Expert Reviews, merging industry expertise and insightful analysis. Delve into tech intricacies, get the best deals, and stay ahead with our trustworthy guide to navigating the ever-changing tech market.