Online Content Becoming Viable Revenue Source, Says Report

Although a number of newspapers, notably the Wall Street Journal, have been able to justify charging users, subscriptions have generally been regarded as a death knell for websites. In a report last autumn, Forrester Research denigrated the concept of paid for content on the basis that “consumers access content when and where they need it, not when providers want to give it to them.” (see Forecasts).

However, there is growing evidence that consumers are now more willing to pay for access to certain sites. comScore Networks/OPA research shows that 12.4 million US consumers paid for online material in Q1 2002, up from 5.3 million in the first quarter of 2001. The latest figure is equivalent to 9.2% of the country’s total internet population.

Consumer spending on online content totalled $300 million in the first three months of 2002, an increase of 155% over the first quarter last year.

US Consumer Spending On Online Content ($ million)
Period	Spend	% Growth
Q1 2001	118	–
Q2 2001	150	27.1
Q3 2001	177	18.0
Q4 2001	230	29.9
Q1 2002	300	30.4
Source: comScore/OPA

It is estimated that some 1700 sites charge for content online although 97% of the money spent by US consumers is concentrated in the hands of just 100 publishers. Business, entertainment and personals/dating are the most popular categories and account for 59% of spending on online content.