Online news publishers News24 and Mail & Guardian Online have joined forces to charge overseas-based readers for access to premium areas of their Web sites.
The M-Web initiative, called The KuduClub, is a network of South African content publishers, which also includes streaming video-on-demand from television station M-Net.
The KuduClub allows overseas-based readers to pay a monthly access fee of $2.95 for the basic service, which also includes Media24`s Afrikaans news titles Beeld, Die Burger, Volksblad and Rapport, and other titles such as City Press, Women24, Food24 and Wheels24.
The premium service, which costs $9.95 per month, allows overseas broadband users access to South African TV streaming media services. The combined service has already attracted significant numbers of paying subscribers in its two-month pilot period and is continuing to grow, say the companies.
News24 publisher Cobus Heyl says Media24 Digital, publisher of News24, knew that the transition from "free to fee" would be a painful one. "However, it was an exercise needed as we could not keep on giving away all content for free." News24 is still available free of charge to local users.
Heyl points out that providing the services comes at a cost. "Bandwidth in SA is an expensive product, and it has proved difficult to try and offset the international costs against international advertising."
Mail & Guardian Online editor Matthew Buckland says the initiative marks the next step in the evolution of online publishing in SA. "Obviously, there will be an impact on our traffic and our readership numbers will reduce, but the barometer of success for many Web sites will no longer be the size of their broad readership, but the amount of paying subscribers registered with a site. This is infinitely more valuable to us in the long-term.
"It was a difficult decision for us at the Mail & Guardian Online, but it has become painfully clear over the past few years that the advertising model alone cannot sustain many of SA`s online publishing operations," says Buckland. "We believe we have the quality, premium content and a readership base that is loyal enough to make this work. We will soon be implementing a model that charges local readers for access.
"We are pleased to be a part of this initiative with Media24 and M-Web. News24 represents a major chunk of SA`s Internet traffic. The more media partners that are onboard, the more attractive the whole, combined offering will be to readers," he says.
Paid content strategies, while relatively new in SA, are common overseas among online publishers in countries like the US and the UK. Many major online brands in these countries have been charging their readers for access to premium content and archives for some time.
Jason Probert, KuduClub GM, says the venture aims to reduce the costs of international bandwidth affecting online publishers in SA and expand the market for South African Internet services by targeting overseas-based users.
Probert says a number of new content partners will join KuduClub over the next few months and he is particularly excited about the imminent launch of Supersport On-Demand. "We`ll be offering live streaming of the South Africa versus Windies cricket tour to US-based subscribers and we`re working on a range of other content and services as well."
Share