online media monetisation — andrii degeler
TRANSCRIPT
Online media monetisationAds are dead, paywalls are dying—what remains?
2016 · Black Sea Summit · Andrii Degeler
Who am [email protected] · @shlema
Where’s the money [email protected] · @shlema
Everyone loves to hate ads● Ads are cheap
● They slow the web down
● Ad blockers have
become ubiquitous
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Enter paywall● A paywall is a system that prevents
Internet users from accessing web page content without a paid subscription
● “Hard” and “soft” paywalls● In most cases, paywalls replicate the
old print subscription model in one way or another
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Evolution of the paywall● 1997 – Wall Street Journal gets paywalled
● 2007 – FT introduces a metered paywall
● 2011 – NYT introduces a metered paywall
● 2014 – NYT launches NYT Now, a “mobile paywall”
● 2015 – FT abandons its metered paywall
● 2015 – NYT sets NYT Now free
● 2016 — NYT shuts down NYT Now
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Success or failure?● Great for niche media and quality press with unique content
● Many outlets are still paywalled: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, New
Yorker, The Times, Financial Times, etc.
● However, many are not: The Guardian, The Atlantic, Johnston Press, etc.
● It doesn’t pay all the bills
● It’s definitely not a silver bullet
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What is next?
Native ads can’t be blocked
“…a type of disguised advertising, usually online, that matches the form and function of the platform upon which it appears.”
Wikipedia, “Native advertising”
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Content distribution● FT is experimenting with
Facebook, Apple News, Google
AMP, and its sub base is actually
growing
● However, it’s cutting costs
aggressively
● The Guardian’s former
editor blames Facebook for
sucking its ad revenues
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Adblock fight
“Any tools to circumvent adblockers aren't sustainable. Since Adblock Plus is open-source, anti-adblockers are playing cat and mouse […] with the whole online community.”
Till Faida, CEO at Eyeo GmbH (Adblock Plus)
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Leaky and bendy paywalls● Readers coming from social networks
can consume more stories
for free
● WSJ staff can share links
that circumvent paywalls
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The case of Piano Media● One paywall operator for
media in Slovakia and Poland
● Flat fee for access to all the
content across publishers
● Revenue sharing model
● But what if you just wanted
to read one story on one
website?
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The case of Blendle: Pros and cons● Might not work for English
● Free content is aplenty all
over the place
● Not as good for online-only media
● What about ads?
● One paywall to rule them all
● Works well along a traditional
paywall
● Unbundle the newspapers
● Layout is taken care of
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The case of Satoshipay
● Micropayments per
story/image/paragraph
● Pay as you read
● Partnership with Visa
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Flattr Plus and Brave
● Pay what you want, monthly
● Tweak the way your money is distributed
● However, the operator is still a gatekeeper
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Micropayments may be the answer● No obligations
● Easy to pay
● Easy to collect
● Bitcoin or not
● Still no silver bullet
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