Subscription-Based Video Site Model: Mass versus Niche

With video sites, the big question remains to be answered: How to make money with video on the Internet? Will people pay for it? Will advertisers foot the bill?

For sites that attract multitudes of eyeballs, traffic is the stock in trade, with advertising dollars that follow those eyeballs. In fact, some sites that were originally launched with a subscription model, are changing rein.

As Frank Ahrens wrote in the Washington Post: "The shift toward free, ad-supported sites should prove to be more lucrative, said Murdoch, who plans to conclude his purchase of the Wall Street Journal before the end of the year. The Journal, with about 1 million subscribers, is one of a few publications that have made a business of selling content online. But the number of users could increase to 10 million to 15 million if the site were free, Murdoch told shareholders in a speech in Australia. That would mean the site could charge more to advertisers who want to reach that broader audience or any part of it."

Of course, most sites don't have the traffic the WSJ enjoys. At this point at least at QNNtv we've found there simply isn't enough advertising money floating around to support our site. If the move is toward free content for mass-consumption, what about us little guys?

"The lesson seems to be that online consumers will pay only for niche content of intense interest to them... But most consumers expect free mainstream content, including news and mass-audience entertainment, whether they find it on YouTube or washingtonpost.com."

"Subscriptions thrive in an area where there's scarcity -- content that people can't get anywhere else," said Rafat Ali, publisher of PaidContent.org. "Other than that, you need an advertising-based model."

Hooray for the special interest site! And our business model.