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The Online Publishers Association, a trade group representing a host of publishing giants, is to release an analysis on the market for paid content on the Web.
The announcement comes as two of Europe's major on-line newspapers, The Times of London and The Irish Times, both said this week that they would institute new charges for use of their on-line editions. The Times said it wants to charge non-UK residents for access to its site, while the Irish Times said on Wednesday that on-line access to the full text of the newspaper and its archive would no longer be free.
The charges for the Irish Times will apply starting in May, and although prices have not been formally released, the newspaper reported that these are likely to range from EUR10 for a weekly subscription to less than EUR100 for an annual membership.
In its statement on Tuesday, the Online Publishers Association said it believed it was time to take stock of the market for paid media content on the Internet. The association will release reports on an ongoing basis, starting this summer, that should help establish the size and the characteristics of the market for paid content.
The association said the initiative is designed to keep the industry up to date on consumer spending for digital content on-line. The analysis will segment the market by categories of content as well as by payment models.
"We look forward to bringing some clarity to on-line publishers, the press and consumers about the vitality and scope of the market for paid content," Michael Zimbalist, executive director of the Online Publishers Association, said in a statement.
The association also stressed this week that new figures, such as those reported in a new Forbes.com C-level executive survey, prove that on-line is becoming more ingrained in the daily media routines of top executives.
The Forbes.com survey released this week was conducted by Research.net, which polled 286 C-level executives who are registered users of Forbes.com. These executives spend an average of 16 hours a week on the Web, more than twice the amount of time spent with magazines (6.6 hours) or newspapers (6.6 hours).
The survey also posted surprising results in relation to advertising effectiveness. The poll showed that 62 percent of executives said advertisements on the Web provide rich information and help them make buying decisions.
The Online Publishers Association says that it is beginning to see research that shows the editorial environment actually influences advertising credibility. The association's own survey from last November polled 566 users who regularly visit quality news and information sites. More than half of those visitors agreed with the statement that "on-line ads are more believable when they appear on a Web site that I trust."
The group said it is planning more research into the impact of editorial environments on advertising effectiveness in the second quarter of this year.
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