The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has released a study, according to which media companies could counter the effects of the advertising slump and benefit from a major boost in profits if they start charging for online news.
A new research, released by BCG, shows that consumers are willing to spend small monthly sums to receive news on their personal computers and mobile devices. In a survey of 5,000 individuals conducted in nine countries, BCG found that the average monthly amount that consumers would be prepared to pay ranges from $3 in the US and Australia to $7 in Italy. The other countries included in the study were France, Norway, Germany, Finland and Spain.
While more than 60 percent of Internet users in several Western European countries said that they would be willing to pay for access to news online, only 48 percent of Internet users in the US said they would pay. When asked how much they would pay, Americans averaged just $3 a month, tying with Australia for the lowest figure. For Italians, this average stood at $7. The question is seen to be of great interest to the American newspaper industry, which is scouting for options on how to put toll gates on its websites, to make up for sinking print advertising.
Americans were also found to be much more likely to pay for admission to sites that offered online access to multiple papers.
Interestingly, across all countries, avid newspaper readers - who already pay the most to read news - are also the most willing to pay the maximum sum for online access to news.
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