Online news has to pay its own way

Region's newspapers are a long way from the subscription fees being introduced elsewhere

Local publishers must improve their editorial output before charging users to access online content, UAE media executives say. In the UK, The Times and TheSunday Times newspapers, which are part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp empire, recently introduced a subscription barrier to their websites.

The titles will begin charging users for access to material late this month, following a free trial that began last month. When the so-called paywall is introduced, users will be asked to pay £1 (Dh5.36) a day or £2 a week for access to both titles. Mr Murdoch's initiative is seen as a test case for subscription-led payment of online content. But many other media owners believe that the more established model of free access to editorial material that is supported by advertising is the way forward.

Neither model, however, has yet proved to be particularly profitable. And this is especially apparent in the UAE, where online advertising accounts for a tiny percentage of the total ad spend and none of the newspapers charges for access to website content. Online advertising aside, commentators say mainstream UAE publishers cannot hope to charge users for access until they offer more "premium" content and improve standards. Ali Jaber, the dean of the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Communications at the American University of Dubai and a consultant to the TV and publishing group Dubai Media Incorporated, says there are many barriers to the introduction of paywalls in the UAE.

"UAE newspapers charging for content online? I find it very difficult to believe that is feasible. The whole culture of being online is not there yet," says Mr Jaber. He cites "security issues" over online payment systems and the widespread availability of free online news content. The quality of content is also an issue, says Mr Jaber. "I don't think the UAE newspapers are providing premium news worthy of payment. Premium news is news you can't find anywhere else and as long as you can get the news elsewhere for free, no one will be compelled to pay."

Francis Matthew, the editor at large at the Dubai-based broadsheet Gulf News, says there are no plans to introduce a paywall to the newspaper's website. "Have we monetised [our website] so far? No, we haven't - along with the rest of the world," he says. "Will UAE newspaper websites ever charge for access to content? They're probably going to have to in the end. Our experience is that, yes, people do pay for news. Someone has to pay the reporters' salaries.

"We'd all like to build buildings with free concrete, but it just doesn't happen." One more immediate concern is to clamp down on the so-called news aggregation websites, says Mr Matthew. "We do have a very clear position with the aggregators. We disagree with the fact that they're stealing our content. It's not good that some aggregators are taking, 40, 50 or 60 stories from GulfNews.com every day. They are making news a core part of their business, but they are stealing it from us," he says.

Some Middle East websites, such as the business portals Zawya.com and MEED.com, do charge for access to material. Richard Thompson, the editorial director at the Middle East business publication MEED, says that between 90 and 95 per cent of the magazine's online material is behind a paywall. Subscription to both the magazine and website costs about US$3.55 (Dh13) a day. "MEED has always been a subscription product. The issue for us has always been how much content you put in front of the paywall to attract users to the website and how much you put behind it," he says.

But Mr Thompson believes that mainstream UAE newspapers could eventually start charging for access. "The newspapers really have to understand their audiences, and target their content accordingly. To change the model, the content has to be worth it, both in financial terms and the effort of registering," he says. Ricky Ghai, the executive director of digital media at the Abu Dhabi Media Company, which owns and publishes The National, says that charging users for content will be an essential part of online business models in the future.

"The quest to find a solution for paid content is universal and there are precious few examples of clear success." [e-mail]