Factoids from Reflections of a Newsosaur:
“A puny 2.4% of print subscribers is the average number of people paying for online content at the handful of daily newspapers that have been bold enough to erect pay walls, according to a new survey.”
“But wait, it gets worse. Because only about a third of American households subscribe to newspapers, the survey suggests that the actual average penetration of pay sites is at best 0.7% of total households.”
Even though the Newport (RI) Daily News charges $420 annually for online access, its 1.7% penetration rate is identical to that of the Colorado Springs (CO) Gazette, which charges web subscribers only $1 a year.
Albuquerque Journal daily circulation is 101,810; Albuquerque Journal online subscriptions: 1,133. That’s 1.1%, among the lowest of the 26 newspaper pay sites surveyed.
The Albuquerque “Urinal” has got a lot of nerve, don’t they? Also note that they are the second most expensive on the list. Clearly not worthwhile since the quality of their website is poor at any rate. Too bad the Tribune went under and not them.