to launch website paywall next month

Fairfax to launch website paywall next month

Posted 19 minutes ago

Fairfax Media says it is hoping to replicate the success of its international digital subscription service when it launches a metered paywall in Australia next month.

From July 2, visitors to The Age and Sydney Morning Herald websites will have free access to 30 articles each month.

A metered subscription program will apply beyond that.

Fairfax chief executive Greg Hywood says the move is part of a restructure which will save the company an additional $60 million by the end of September.

Mr Hywood told an investor briefing this morning that the restructure aimed to reduce duplication across the business, with a minimal impact on content and sales.

While he warned of a sharp fall in Fairfax's overall earnings, he said there were no plans to eliminate the print versions of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

"Before speculation runs rampant, let me make one thing clear. We do not have any intention to reduce the frequency of print publication of any of our major mastheads in the foreseeable future," he said.

"Why? Because they are profitable."

During an investor briefing this morning, Mr Hywood said earnings before interest and tax for the second half of the current financial year would range between $129 million and $135 million.

That indicates the company is primed for a steep profit fall compared to the $506 million it made last financial year.

A Goldman Sachs report forecasts the closure of Fairfax's printed metros to close in 2015.

"Our central tenet here is that the relentless, accelerating migration of advertising away from print, both in display and classifieds, will see (Fairfax's) metro media print business slide into significant operating losses, given the high-margin nature of its evaporating print revenues, particularly in classifieds, and its largely fixed-cost base," the report said.

Allen Williams, Fairfax managing director of Australian Publishing Media, says the international digital paywall was launched in March and has attracted almost double the amount of subscribers than expected.

He says the introduction of a paywall for some of its content will cause minimal disruption for the majority of visitors.

"The tablet apps will follow a freemium subscription model that has several free sections and others available only for subscribers.

"The approach we have taken is designed to target a small portion of our high-volume visitors without greatly impacting the vast majority of our digital audience."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-06/fairfax-to-introduce-paywall-in-july/4738634