Ungated NYTimes Draws Record Number of Visitors
The Internet has changed everything, everyone agrees. But that reality is probably most pressing for traditional media companies used to pushing hard copies of their content, whether on paper or little plastic disks. For those following how well these companies are adapting, the tale of the rise and fall of gated content on NYTimes Select holds special interest.
When the NYTimes decided to demolish the gate and make all of its content available free, we predicted that increased advertising revenue generated from increased traffic would more than make up for the lost subscription dollars. Were we right? The Nielsen numbers came out yesterday, and as far as increased traffic goes, we were right on. The Beet.TV blog reports that the Times experienced,
"a significant jump in unique visitors to the NYTimes.com for October. In reaching 17.5 million uniques, the paper had its best month ever, a Times spokeswoman told me. The numbers are up from 14.6 million in September."Rupert Murdoch's desire to see a subscription free Wall Street Journal online is making more sense than ever.
(Image of NYTimes online by Niels Olson, CC 2.0)