“Looking to get more subscribers for its iPad app, The Wall Street Journal will start selling single-issue digital versions of its morning paper for $1.99 in the within the existing free app,” David Kaplan reports for paidContent.
“In a conversation last week with Alisa Bowen, Dow Jones’ digital head, she described the move as part of the company’s ‘open house approach,’ designed to entice readers with a sampling of its content,” Kaplan reports. “Bowen said the move had nothing do with the New York Times’ new metered paywall, which it announced last week.”
MacDailyNews Take: Obviously not; if they followed NYT’s lead they would have tried to charge $9.99 per issue.
Kaplan continues, “Up to now, those who downloaded the free WSJ app on the iPad could receive some free content. But to get the full range of the WSJ’s updated news and features, they had to subscribe. There will still be limitations on what the readers who choose the single-issue download can receive. In essence, they’ll just get what’s in that day’s print edition. But they’ll be able invited to get the full “Now Edition” for $18 a month, which includes regular news updates.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
New York Times erects paywall, rolls out digital subscriptions; agrees to Apple’s terms – March 17, 2011
I’d give them $0.25 at most and that would be a stretch.
I agree! $1.99 should get you at least a week’s worth of everything.
Old media is screwing this transition up BIG time! $2 an issue is WAY too much. It’s on par with the tree->paper->print->truck->kiosk->user. $2/week maybe… it wasn’t long ago (10± years) that newspapers were $0.10 – $0.25/day. The ONLY way new media will get their volume back to what it was a decade ago will be by getting back to these prices.
Some real content and good reporting would go a long way too. The WSJ has established readers that would pay up for live reporting that influences their money. The rest that report yesterdays news along with their dreams and hopes for the new world. They better start giving that crap away for free. If it isn’t paper, you can’t train the puppy or put it in the bottom of the birdcage. And no coupons if it is digital! Who wants that when they can see today on their iPads?
That’s too much considering it’s digital and the expense is much less. I love the WSJ but $1.99, give me a freaking break. Oh yeah, Obama SUCKS!
Enjoy suffering for 6 more years Matt pussy
$18 a month sounds pretty reasonable.
$0.99 per issue would have made a lot more sense, since they’re offering monthly for $18. No one is going to spend $1.99 for a single issue.
It is the same story we had with the CD tracks vs. entire CD albums.
With CD albums you buy a lot of crap just in order to get a few tracks that are of interest to you. That’s why Apple pioneered the buy-per-track business model. This system rewards the more valuable content.
Same thing with news paper articles. They should be 10-20c per article, with a maximum of the “album” price of $1.99 or $0.99 or whatever. Personally I think $1.99 is too much for an entry price (they think of it as a “teaser” price, but they are wrong).
Or what about 20c/article up to $0.99, and 10c/article for any excess article.
In Canada I pay less than $12 and get almost every broadsheet newspaper in Canada, except 2 obnoxious left wing rags from The Center of the Universe, delivered to my computer every morning.
For my American friends, The Center of the Universe is Toronto, Ontario, Canada, just ask the bastards that live there.
Um, this new (iPad only?) interface for MDN is not sitting well with me. Do not like.
Seriously, has the site been hacked?
Ah, that’s better.
Yeah, that sure was bad.
At last a paper that gets it. To give the reader a chance to buy a single issue just like you pick one up at the kiosk. $2.29 in paper and $ 1.99 electronically.
A good deal if you ask me.
WSJ used to be an excellent paper. Not worth a nikel now.
I was a regular reader and frequent subscriber of the WSJ for more than 40 years, but I haven’t touched an issue since Rupert Murdoch purchased it.
If the media co.’s go out of business it will be their own fault. Soon there will be over 250 million mobile users. They have no paper cost, no print cost and little distribution cost with digital media. They could clean up for 2.50 a week plus IAds in their model.
Today I subscribed to WSJ for a month via iPad app. $18 for a month, so give or take $0.7 per issue (there is one issue for the weekend). Not bad, at least they have subscription. Still, digital versions of newspapers and magazine will probably get cheaper over next few years.
The Financial Times, the finest newspaper in the world, charges $99.00 per year for the iPad edition, or $1.90 per week. Who do the WSJ think they are ? Typical Murdoch arrogance …
I just looked it up, and I can subscribe to FT for $4.99 per week via iPad app. Would love it to be 1.99, though.
http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/
For the 50 most popular USA Newspapers, World Newspapers or Magazines.
A brazillion … ok, at least eleventytwelvety-twenty, well, would you believe thousands of the worlds newspapers at your finger tips; if you like to keep yer’self edumacated on wots go’n on.
–
Hmmmn … reminiscing about brazillions
Once upon a time, not so long ago.
Donald Rumsfeld was giving the President his morning briefing on incidents that had happened around the world as the President had slept.
He concluded by saying: “and finally Mr President, overnight, three Brazilian soldiers were killed.”
“OH NO!” the President exclaims. “That’s terrible!”
His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands.
Finally, President looks up and asks, “Exactly how many is a brazillion again?”
He certainly … misunderestimated that.