Users Will Pay For Online Content Given The Right Circumstances

A recent survey by a market research firm has given a glimmer of hope to newspaper and magazine publishers even if a majority of users prefer accessing online content for free.

They have stuck to web properties as they look to generate a regular and significant revenue stream to supplement and ultimately replace the dwindling incomes from their main print publications.

Market research analyst Nielsen has surveyed a massive 27,000 people across 52 countries to find out the kind of opportunities exists in online paid content. 

Unsurprisingly, most of the respondents (around 85 percent) said they prefer free access to the content available on the internet. But, the company concluded that lucrative opportunities do exist for content providers, particularly with content that the users have paid for earlier.

Users are willing to pay for the content they generally pay for offline, including theatrical movies, current television shows, music tracks, games, and the likes. A majority of users have paid for such content in the past, and wouldn’t mind paying for it again.

However, consumers are less likely to pay for the homemade content, such as videos on YouTube or Facebook updates, as this sort of content is deemed inexpensive to create and has so far been made available in gratis.