Hearld Sun Superfoooty Pay Wall goes up.

[Paranoid]

I don't know if this decision will affect their physical newspaper sales or not, but the majority of feedback (so far) has undeniably been negative. I get the feeling most people will seek free news elsewhere rather than pay the HS for it.

 

[RodneyMaynard]

I'm just going to keep signing up for free 2month passes with a series of hotmail accounts. I've been doing the free 28 day trial with the Australian this way non-stop since last year. Eventually they'll stop with the free trial periods at which point i'll simply stop visiting their websites.

 

[Fantasy Freak]

Daytripper, with all due respect .... your commentary smacks of being a paid employee of News Corp. That or a patsy. I stand corrected, of course.

But why any person of sound mind would defend such a scurrilous organisation (read world-wide phone tapping), much less one in which nepotism and family hierarchical structure and personal attacks on the U.S. Presidency is rampant, much less one in which the Chairman would love nothing more than for Hollywood to control internet content and inevitably what you or I say on it, much less the Chairman's main focus despite his old age which is to die with the greatest amount of "chips" on the table.

No wonder the Obama administration decided to cut Fox down to size - a raging, red-neck rabble. By the way, is the Fox Channel in the U.S. still free? Probably for not much longer!!

 

[MYOB]

Daytripper, with all due respect .... your commentary smacks of being a paid employee of News Corp. That or a patsy. I stand corrected, of course.

No, he's just a so called expert on everything media related.

 

[mattys123]

Daytripper, with all due respect .... your commentary smacks of being a paid employee of News Corp.

Yep, he's listening to your phone calls as we speak.

 

[Phone]

Yep, he's listening to your phone calls as we speak.

boom tish.

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

the internet business... very tricky.

who are these people that sit around a big table and come to the conclusion that we'll make it subscription based and people will come and pay. Build it and they will come? dinosaur mentality in the modern world.

the internet, plenty of free alternatives. What a way to alienate a customer base.

 

[Nuffers]

I don't mind paying for a newspaper.... after all it's a fairly flexible product. I have used newspapers to light fires, to cover the bottom of the birdcage and soaking up beer spills on carpet......... hell I've even wiped my arse with it!!!

Now paying for news that I read online without any of the versatility of the paper based product......... I don't think so..........

 

[MarcusP2]

By the way, is the Fox Channel in the U.S. still free? Probably for not much longer!!

You do know Fox is a cable network and was never free?

 

[giantroo]

I don't mind paying for a newspaper.... after all it's a fairly flexible product. I have used newspapers to light fires, to cover the bottom of the birdcage and soaking up beer spills on carpet......... hell I've even wiped my arse with it!!!

Now paying for news that I read online without any of the versatility of the paper based product......... I don't think so..........

Even that's of no use, just use junk mail in place of it!!

 

[RogersResults]

Fantasy Freak. By the way, is the Fox Channel in the U.S. still free? Probably for not much longer!!

You do know Fox is a cable network and was never free?

You missed the "U.S.".

Fox in the United States is the 4th largest free to air network with 223 affiliate stations with 97.5% of U.S. households reached.

They haven't started charging the plebs to propagandize them yet.

 

[Nuffers]

Even that's of no use, just use junk mail in place of it!!

Too damn shiney

 

[giantroo]

Too damn shiney

lol, what about the local newspaper?

 

[ThatsjustDappa]

I think a lot of people had given up buying the paper because they can get it for free online. That process should now be reversed

Tell him his dreamin'.....

 

[DivideandMultiply]

No, he's just a so called expert on everything media related.

Daytripper is the physical embodiment of Poe's Law (minus the religious stuff).

Pick an issue, from the media, to drug legislation, to the environment.

Impossible to tell if he is a troll or just blindly holds onto absurdist conservative opinions.

 

[ThatsjustDappa]

The interesting mix in all this for me is how the AFL itself will maintain brand penetration in light of paywalls. Yeah sure paying customers will still read a paywalled sport section but these people will make up a small fraction of the overall market. The AFLs own website is continuing with ever more commentary and analysis which will continue to eat into other players in the market, something the Hun will need to somehow overcome in it's own mostly soon to be paywall protected sports section....time will tell whether their chosen journey is folly or success.....

 

[theflea]

edit: 7 day subscribers get this content free, but when you renew(after 12mths) there will be a new pricing structure for both.

 

[db swannie]

Like many here, noticed this today and thought, "Are you kidding? Why would I pay money to read pieces of tripe written by two-bit gossip merchants and has-beens, when I can come to BF and read the same stuff for free?"

HUN, don't make me laugh. You really think your rubbish articles are worth paying for?

Not this little red and white swan.

 

[15hodge]

Just removed HS from favorites. www.theage.com.au can stay.

 

[hawker11]

Just removed HS from favorites. www.theage.com.au can stay.

Did the same - considered deleting the age while I was at it

 

[Call Me Cake]

Just read this...

Anonymous: Why is this on the paywall section, Robbo?

Mark Robinson: Editor's decision.... and people have to get used to it

 

[15hodge]

From the views expressed in this thread, he might just have to get used to a much more limited readership.

 

[Taco]

The HS would be praying that The Age follow their lead.

 

[basashi]

I'm assuming Supercoach will still be free. That will be the only reason I go on their site from now on

Its too easy to throw together a similar or better game for free. Charge 10 bucks for Supercoach and you will just get a massive migration to Ultimate Footy or DT

Oh and I won't be paying.

 

[THRILLHO]

the internet business... very tricky.

who are these people that sit around a big table and come to the conclusion that we'll make it subscription based and people will come and pay. Build it and they will come? dinosaur mentality in the modern world.

the internet, plenty of free alternatives. What a way to alienate a customer base.

There's barely any alternatives.

Sure, there's a bunch of blogs and (something else) but most of these are simple repetitions of news stories filed by major media players with some small aggrandisation which in most cases (see: BFN) barely worth the time taken to click on.

You either need massive ad revenue or a pay wall to justify the huge resources needed to fund a news website or blatantly rip journalists copy. All of News Corp are going behind a pay wall and they're the dominant media in Australia. It will be interesting to see where Fairfax goes because, outside of Sydney, where the SMH is kinda close to the DT, they're getting smashed in circulation and seem heavily reliant on their huge unique browser hits but whether or not that is viable is another question.

I probably wouldn't pay for a digital pass of the HS, but its their prerogative to charge for it. I would definitely pay for a digital pass for The Australian as I feel that has an added value to it with the WSJ, features and opinion rather than just sections such as Confidential.