Will you pay to read Straits Times Interactive? (II)
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http://www.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=120427&page=0
looks like SPH is beginning to realise that making money selling news online is not as straight forward and now they are offering FREE news report section, which unfortunately are crap.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/home/0,5561,,00.html? -
OK lah, they learn. Just like you and I need to learn.
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I dont think they are learning fast enough. unfortunately they are still trying their luck with subscription and offering freebies which should be FOC in the first place.Originally posted by Yi Peng:OK lah, they learn. Just like you and I need to learn.
THE PERKS TO BEING A SUBSCRIBER OF ST INTERACTIVE
ST Interactive has been a free-access site since 1995. From Mar 20, It will become a subscription website. Subscription rates will depend on whether the subscriber is already buying the print edition of the newspaper. Below we compare what readers are getting before with what subscribers will get after March 20:
BEFORE The site offered only a three-day archive of its webpages. This means that on Feb 1, 2005, a Tuesday, you would have been able to search only as far back as Jan 29, a Saturday.
AFTER MARCH 20
The archive will become a seven-day one. This means that on April 1, 2005, a Friday, you'll be able to search back as far as March 25, the previous Friday.
BEFORE All reports in the Money section were accessible only after 6pm Singapore time.
AFTER MARCH 20
All reports in the Money section will be live on the site from 6am
Singapore time, along with the rest of the material on the site.
BEFORE Only three reports from Life! and Sunday Life were available.
AFTER MARCH 20
All reports from Life! and Sunday Life – your source of info on showbiz and lifestyle – will be available online.
BEFORE The tech weekly magazine Digital Life was available online – but only from 2pm on Wednesday, a day and a half after its print cousin was distributed with the newspaper.
AFTER MARCH 20
Digital Life goes online from 6am on Tuesday, the same day its print
edition is distributed with the newspaper.
BEFORE The health weekly magazine Mind Your Body and the fashion weekly magazine Urban were not available online.
AFTER MARCH 20
Both these magazines will be available online to STI subscribers from 6am on the days they are distributed with the newspaper, that is, Wednesdays for Mind Your Body and Thursdays for Urban. (Urban will go online on Thursdays later this year.) -
Let them learn their stupid lesson. I buy ST only when I want to see the ads, not the news because I can get local news on TV.
Does free online eat into print sales? Perhaps in Singapore cos the circulation is only in Singapore. If it does, I will charge $3 per month flat for min 6 months subscription. That will make a lot of sense. Sell online ads and make money along the way. -
I believe they have lost many online visitors at STI ever since they decided to charge a fee for it. The result, many people migrate to Todays online, which allow you to view local news in text, html and PDF format, FREE OF CHARGE.Originally posted by Yi Peng:Let them learn their stupid lesson. I buy ST only when I want to see the ads, not the news because I can get local news on TV.
Does free online eat into print sales? Perhaps in Singapore cos the circulation is only in Singapore. If it does, I will charge $3 per month flat for min 6 months subscription. That will make a lot of sense. Sell online ads and make money along the way. -
You may get people to pay for a newspaper but for the new media, it's a sure-fail business model. Same dinosaur thinking and methods don't work on the Internet and the thing everyone can see is they haven't figured out a good online business model that works.
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For what?
I got better news websites to read which are totally free and is more objective. I only buy on Tuesdays, just for the Digital Life. -
Whether it all makes sense depends on how much they made out of online advertising in the first place and whether the migration away have eaten a substantial amount more than they gain from print advertising.
The strange thing is, they are in a dilemna because all major newspapers have free online editions and they really stick out like a sore thumb the way they operate now.
I think what would make sense is to make the major news stories available online for free, period. -
I am currently on job assignment in Malaysia. And each night i would catch up with news in zaobao, todays, cna. Being the largest english newspaper, it is unfortunately they have resorted to charge on-line, and to charge obsecenely, $15 monthly.
To me, a newspaper allows one to know about the happenings in that country. Besides reading local papers online, I read several Taiwanese, Chinese medias, BBC and CNN too. By imposing charges, it deters foreigners as well as locals to know more about the country.
How can we be globalised, how can more people get to know about us, when our largest english paper choose to charge its news online?
I feel SPH has the obligation to Singapore (to allow more people to know about us) rather than the obligation to its shareholder (to generate revenue). -
For business times subscriber you can actually access BT online for free but ST subscribers you have to pay half price to access online. I think STI is stuck now, revenue from subscriber must be too low and hit rate for their website is down, hence advertising revenue will be close to nothing.Originally posted by Yi Peng:Whether it all makes sense depends on how much they made out of online advertising in the first place and whether the migration away have eaten a substantial amount more than they gain from print advertising.
The strange thing is, they are in a dilemna because all major newspapers have free online editions and they really stick out like a sore thumb the way they operate now.
I think what would make sense is to make the major news stories available online for free, period.
How can a company like SPH make such a blunder? -
before they started charging, i was in their site frequently cos i dun buy the printed papers.. then after they charge i just switch to ch. newsasia.. which is free..
i guess its a really bad move -
natural death will set in lah...later they just free it up again one...
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wonder if the person who suggested charging still in their payroll..Originally posted by chunyong:natural death will set in lah...later they just free it up again one... -
as long as CNA and zaobao remains free, i dun give a damn
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Runned by stupid dead wood. Open embarassment for all to see.Originally posted by Gazelle:How can a company like SPH make such a blunder?
PSA made the same arrogant mistake. -
Mistake on top, but the bottom sufferOriginally posted by Yi Peng:Runned by stupid dead wood. Open embarassment for all to see.
PSA made the same arrogant mistake.
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Singapore suffers, not just the people at the bottom.
Anyway, they make mistake just like you and I make mistakes.
In the case of PSA, it was a big mistake but not the case of ST. -
No i won't. i prefer to read the actual print then spoil my eyes reading from the monitor. when there are so many better free news websites like CNN, BBC News, Todayonline, CNA, it must take a really big idiot to think that he can charge subscription out of online news. sadly, there are many of the same kind helming our national bodies ...
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I stopped reading Straits Times Online since they started charging people for it.
I will not pay for politically biased news.
The only reason why I read Straits Times Online when it was free because it contained the least nonsensical news then. -
they monopolised the market.
i wont pay to read news online. in fact i have stopped buying papers altogether. -
Same here. I've stopped reading ST news online ever since they started charging and I don't buy newspapers anymore.Originally posted by dragg:they monopolised the market.
i wont pay to read news online. in fact i have stopped buying papers altogether.
Rather, I read free online newspapers of other countries.
I figured if local news are big enough, they will be reflected in other countries' news. If not, why bother to know? -
They are indirectly telling to you to go read other news sources lah.
THe bloke who decided on this charging scheme grew a conscience.
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the bloke who came up with this idea should be sacked.Originally posted by charlize:They are indirectly telling to you to go read other news sources lah.
THe bloke who decided on this charging scheme grew a conscience.
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No, no.Originally posted by dragg:the bloke who came up with this idea should be sacked.
He is doing Singaporeans a favour. -
he was only trying to do his career and SPH's shareholder a favour.Originally posted by charlize:No, no.
He is doing Singaporeans a favour.
he incurred the wrath of a lot of singaporeans.