Could iPhone Mess Result in Mobile Ad Rev Opportunities WSJ?
The Wall Street Journal, mobile division, made a bit of snafu when they implemented their iPhone app that, it seems, mistakenly has the publisher giving their content away for free.
It is unclear if the mobile division launched the iPhone app, already mindful of the Apple’s inability to charge appropriately for WSJ content. Those who subscribe to the Journal online currently pay an approximate $104.00, per year. Regardless of who knew what and when, everyone is claiming a level of ignorance, given Rupert Murdoch’s grave displeasure with the whole ordeal.
The Wall Street Journal is probably suffering from what a lot of other publishers are experiencing right now, which is the scramble to introduce new media elements for its users and inevitably potential users. Often times with aggressive expectations, one hand forgets to inform the other and flesh out the revenue strategies collectively.
I don’t suspect the slippage in revenue will be great, but this should give the WSJ advertising team an uplift in mobile subscriptions, allowing them to charge better ad rates on this mobile venue. Instead of harping on content that it’s now giving away for free (content that in part or whole can be found elsewhere online for free), the Journal should take this opportunity to explore the business models they had around mobile, but were unable to execute due to poor subscription levels.
