Newsday Shows Future of Online Subscription Model

Late last October, Newsday put its content behind a pay wall, making it the first non-business newspaper to do this, according to the New York Observer (which isn't exactly true -- several newspapers have played with this, though mostly in part). Three months later, its results are telling: 35 people. are willing to pay up to $5 a week to read Newsday on the Web.

Imagine going to a strip club at 3:00 in the afternoon. That's how many people pay for Newsday on the Web.

To make matters worse, the newspaper paid $4 million to redesign and relaunch the website. The revenue it has generated is estimated at $9,000.

Fortunately, we're talking about the newspaper "business," so there's always a way to rationalize the results. Not included in the results are print subscribers who also have free access to the website. Optimum Cable users also have online access to Newsday. And, in true newspaper form, the company emphasizes its reach -- which comes to 75% of Long Island through its print and Optimum channels.

So, this leads to a new layer of stupidity. If you already "own" 75% of a market, why would you spend $4 million to reach the other 25%. Isn't 75% close enough to a monopoly that paying a fortune for the remainder isn't worth it? The net difference for $4 million is a mere 35 people.

There's no way to spin this one into a success story. According to the Observer, a staffer at Newsday, offers this simple assessment of the new initiative: "It's an abomination." Says another: "The view of the newsroom is the web site sucks."

Well, at least there's consensus. Seventy-five percent of Long Island (minus 35 people) feels the same way.