WashingtonPost.com Extends Free Content Window

Blogs, RSS and search drive the change.

In a bid to increase traffic and reap more online advertising revenues, WashingtonPost.com will allow articles to remain free on the site for 60 days before they go behind the subscribers-only wall. Previously, stories were only accessible for 14 days.

The switch is an acknowledgement of the role of blogs, search and RSS, which have all worked to keep news stories in the public eye for longer periods of time. Company executive point to the news operation’s recent scoop regarding secret CIA prisons in foreign countries — a story that has continued to generate links and buzz for weeks after its debut.

“For us to take that article offline after 14 days really does us a disservice,” Jim Brady, executive editor of the site, told ClickZ News.

These new blog and search links tend to drive traffic directly to stories, rather than to the front page of the site, contributing to the importance of individual articles. About half the traffic at WashingtonPost.com now comes through these “side doors,” according to Brady.

“Whether they come in from the side door or in the front door, we’re just glad they are in the house,” Brady said, adding traffic patterns have been changing over the past few years.

The move comes at a time when newspapers are seeing print subscriptions dip while demand for online advertising continues to rise. The desire to capitalize on that trend by increasing inventory is so strong that some sites, such as the Houston Chronicle’s Chron.com and The Toronto Star’s TheStar.com, have recently removed registration barriers that may have decreased traffic. Running counter to that trend are players like the New York Times, which put more content behind a subscription wall.

Brady says the WashingtonPost.com will be carefully watching traffic and revenues generated by opening up the archives.

“We wanted to see how much more traffic we could drive and compare that to what we were making via the archives [subscriptions],” he said. “It’s really an experiment in a lot of ways.”

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Whitepapers

US Mobile Streaming Behavior
Whitepaper | Mobile

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

5y

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

Streaming has become a staple of US media-viewing habits. Streaming video, however, still comes with a variety of pesky frustrations that viewers are ...

View resource
Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups
Whitepaper | Analyzing Customer Data

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups

5y

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics f...

Data is the lifeblood of so many companies today. You need more of it, all of which at higher quality, and all the meanwhile being compliant with data...

View resource
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people
Whitepaper | Digital Marketing

Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its peopl...

2y

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. It provides expert insight on how companies can ret...

View resource
Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy
Report | Digital Transformation

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy

1m

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Exp...

Customers decide fast, influenced by only 2.5 touchpoints – globally! Make sure your brand shines in those critical moments. Read More...

View resource