FAIRFAX Media chief executive Brian McCarthy said yesterday the 2008-09 financial year had seen the "worst environment" he had ever experienced in the media sector, after the company posted a significant fall in full-year operating profit.We've discussed the follies of charging for internet content before and have maintained the best way of monetising the Internet is provide free content and demonstrate value for advertisers looking for the demographic.
Mr McCarthy also indicated he was open to holding talks about co-operation with rival publisher News Limited -- publisher of The Australian -- about the possibility of joining forces on any plan to charge for news on the internet.
It's not surprising that News Limited, co-owner of Foxtel, has seen paid content as a way to double-dip - in the case of payTV, billing the punters for access and then making them sit through ads to get to the content.
And just another question, and perhaps some of our readers with a knowledge of law might offer their opinion - is a joint plan by two dominant players in the media market place to set pricing model a form of anti-competitive collusion?
The ACCC certainly thinks so:
The chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has called on Fairfax and News Ltd to consult with it before the two media giants enter into talks regarding the introduction of paid-for online content models...
...The consumer watchdog’s chairman told B&T Today that competition issues would need to be resolved before a deal could take place. “I would think it would be best for them (Fairfax and News Ltd) to talk to their lawyers and to the ACCC before they talk to each other,” Graeme Samuel said.
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