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Thursday, September 26, 2013

USA Today Explores Website Paywall


USA Today is considering putting up a pay wall and charging visitors to its website, according to the NY Post.

“We’re going to look at it,” Larry Kramer, president and publisher, said in a interview after his appearance at an Advertising Week panel on Wednesday.

Among the big three national newspapers, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times both have profitable pay walls erected around their digital offerings.

USA Today has resisted the move, even though all the other 81 daily papers in the Gannett chain have erected some form of paid access.

“People are exploring it,” Kramer said. “The question is, if we do it, what is the best way to do it.”

Kramer made his remarks just days before the steepest newsstand hike in the paper’s history is slated to go into effect on Sept. 30, when the single-copy price will rise to $2 from $1.

Circulation revenue at USA Today fell 12 percent in the most recent quarter ending in June 30. Kramer conceded total circulation will fall with the price hike but believes the shortfall in copies sold will be more than offset by the increased revenue per copy.

USA Today, with total circulation of 1,674,306 including print and digital editions, is the third largest daily in the country, after losing its longtime number one slot to the Journal in 2009.

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