Germans are increasingly willing to pay for online news, but through unlimited monthly subscriptions and not via micropayments or partial
payment, an online study among just under 1000 persons by German market
researcher TNS EMNID for the leading German marketing weekly Absatzwirtschaft found.
But some other fresh German research claims that pay for content may be farther off than online publishers like.
News, followed by sex are the items most likely to reap a the harvest, the research shows. It underlines that 67% claims to be more willing to pay for
news than for sex.
TNS also looked at the possibility of payment for
searchengines, but just over half wouldn't.
But Germans have little choice, since the largest tabloid site Bild online, linked
to Europe's largest provider T-online, decided to bite the bullet and start asking for money, aiming at total payment by the end of this year.
Other leading titles quickly followed, such as the most visited German site, Spiegel online, and its very succesful young competitor, Focus online.
A number of reputable newspaper archives set up payment schemes, while the
German magazine publishers association came through with a recommendation for online and offline payment systems for online content.
Scepsis remains, though. The reputable Swiss market reaserach institute Prognos found this month that selling content to endusers will remain a niche, and a small one at that.
'General interest offers hardly have a chance on direct financing by Internet users', the institute said. But as the position of the web as fourth medium after tv, radio and print is recognized, the chances for exploitation as a medium for ads is increasing,
according to Prognos.
In research to be published on 23 April but already reported on Heise.de, well-known research bureau Fittkau from Hamburg finds among almost 100.000 people that just as last year, only 20% of users will pay for information,
software and downloads, while the number of principal objectors to payment even rose 4%.
But in these results news was not distinguished as a special
category.

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