Many publishing organizations in the world have decided to earn their profits by sharing free content with the communities but loading it with many ads. Sports Illustrated CEO didn’t think this type of ads were the best for his organization. After consultations with experts and stakeholders in the organization, Sports Illustrated CEO launched the paywall. These professionals ended up bringing the paywall because according to them, it was the best option for the organization to start increasing revenue. The publisher began the premium subscription mostly because of these few reasons.
Most institutions in the market were already moving and accepting the paywalls.
Large companies such as Hearst were already doing well while implementing the paywall service in their organizations. Sports Illustrated CEO wasn’t going to waste this golden opportunity to bring growth in his company. Just like others, he took this great path because he saw its benefits to the other companies already using it. The model was being accepted by these big organization because it was the most affordable method of supporting content. The method would promote a free ad environment for the customers, encouraging the readers to focus all of their efforts in quality journalism.
Readers in the American community already wanted better content
The economic uncertainty in the global market has caused many people sleepless nights. Despite this challenge, readers are still very interested in getting quality content, even if they will pay some money for it. With the uncertain economy, the readers are also consuming more content, especially through digital platforms more than ever. The amount of digital content is on the higher side today, but some of it cannot be trusted by customers. For high quality content, the readers will easily pay a small amount for it. Paywall gives the readers a premium chance to get the real story from a trusted and credible source.
Most advertising revenue is mostly unpredictable
The money received from advertising is important for many publishers who need to earn revenue for their media institutions. Sports Illustrated CEO cannot trust this advertising revenue because according to him, it is still not the most sustainable method for publishers in the world. The publishers need to build long term legacies with their brands, and this cannot happen with uncertain revenue.