online media monetisation — andrii degeler

Online media monetisationAds are dead, paywalls are dying—what remains?

2016 · Black Sea Summit · Andrii Degeler

Who am I?andrii@proceed.to · @shlema

Where’s the money gone?andrii@proceed.to · @shlema

Everyone loves to hate ads● Ads are cheap

● They slow the web down

● Ad blockers have

become ubiquitous

andrii@proceed.to · @shlema

Enter paywall● A paywall is a system that prevents

Internet users from accessing web page content without a paid subscription

● “Hard” and “soft” paywalls● In most cases, paywalls replicate the

old print subscription model in one way or another

andrii@proceed.to · @shlema

Evolution of the paywall● 1997 – Wall Street Journal gets paywalled

● 2007 – FT introduces a metered paywall

● 2011 – NYT introduces a metered paywall

● 2014 – NYT launches NYT Now, a “mobile paywall”

● 2015 – FT abandons its metered paywall

● 2015 – NYT sets NYT Now free

● 2016 — NYT shuts down NYT Now

andrii@proceed.to · @shlema

Success or failure?● Great for niche media and quality press with unique content

● Many outlets are still paywalled: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, New

Yorker, The Times, Financial Times, etc.

● However, many are not: The Guardian, The Atlantic, Johnston Press, etc.

● It doesn’t pay all the bills

● It’s definitely not a silver bullet

andrii@proceed.to · @shlema

What is next?

Native ads can’t be blocked

“…a type of disguised advertising, usually online, that matches the form and function of the platform upon which it appears.”

Wikipedia, “Native advertising”

andrii@proceed.to · @shlema

Content distribution● FT is experimenting with

Facebook, Apple News, Google

AMP, and its sub base is actually

growing

● However, it’s cutting costs

aggressively

● The Guardian’s former

editor blames Facebook for

sucking its ad revenues

andrii@proceed.to · @shlema

Adblock fight

“Any tools to circumvent adblockers aren't sustainable. Since Adblock Plus is open-source, anti-adblockers are playing cat and mouse […] with the whole online community.”

Till Faida, CEO at Eyeo GmbH (Adblock Plus)

andrii@proceed.to · @shlema

Leaky and bendy paywalls● Readers coming from social networks

can consume more stories

for free

● WSJ staff can share links

that circumvent paywalls

andrii@proceed.to · @shlema

The case of Piano Media● One paywall operator for

media in Slovakia and Poland

● Flat fee for access to all the

content across publishers

● Revenue sharing model

● But what if you just wanted

to read one story on one

website?

andrii@proceed.to · @shlema

The case of Blendle: Pros and cons● Might not work for English

● Free content is aplenty all

over the place

● Not as good for online-only media

● What about ads?

● One paywall to rule them all

● Works well along a traditional

paywall

● Unbundle the newspapers

● Layout is taken care of

andrii@proceed.to · @shlema

The case of Satoshipay

● Micropayments per

story/image/paragraph

● Pay as you read

● Partnership with Visa

andrii@proceed.to · @shlema

Flattr Plus and Brave

● Pay what you want, monthly

● Tweak the way your money is distributed

● However, the operator is still a gatekeeper

andrii@proceed.to · @shlema

Micropayments may be the answer● No obligations

● Easy to pay

● Easy to collect

● Bitcoin or not

● Still no silver bullet

andrii@proceed.to · @shlema

That’s all folks!

Got a question? Ask me now, or ping me at andrii@proceed.to