Mediabuyerplanner has the news that CNN is bringing out an iPhone app. And unlike a lot of other news applications, this one costs money – $1.99 in the US (I can’t as yet see what the UK price will be).
According to KC Estenson, general manager of CNN.com, people will probably pay for the app, even while CNN.com commits to keeping its online news free for now. His reasoning is that the iPhone application is a ‘premium’ product.
For what it’s worth, I think he’s right. The price is small in the scheme of things, especially if the user experience delivers something akin to what the (free) New York Times app gives you, rather than the slower, more confusing (also free) Independent application.
Interestingly, the other month, journalism blogger Frederic Filloux (whose day job involves being an editor for Norwegian media group Schibsted) posted a model whereby newspapers could in theory make money by charging for online content…but via a modest quarterly mobile subscription rather than a full-on web paywall.
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