Very Insightful Look Into Brandon Roy's Struggles Since Basketball

[RipCityWarrior]

I wish these pay sites would offer their info ala cart. I would throw a few bucks at an article or a certain writers stuff but I cringe at having to pay a recurring bill when I may not have time to read my subscription as consistently as the money out of pocket would make me want. So many services are Nickel and dime these days and that shit adds up. Seems like these sites could earn enough off of site ads to make the knowledge available to all.

 

[barfo]

I wish these pay sites would offer their info ala cart. I would throw a few bucks at an article or a certain writers stuff but I cringe at having to pay a recurring bill when I may not have time to read my subscription as consistently as the money out of pocket would make me want. So many services are Nickel and dime these days and that shit adds up. Seems like these sites could earn enough off of site ads to make the knowledge available to all.

It turns out that didn't work well, and the trend is to move away from advertising to a subscription model. I'm not in that business, but my limited understanding is that if you build your business based on 'clicks', then you are inexorably driven towards providing content that gets more clicks, which often isn't the same thing as providing quality content. And you have lots more competition for clicks, whereas if you focus on your publishing niche, you aren't competing with pictures of cleavage and stories about Prince Harry. Whereas subscribers subscribe because they are interested in what you publish, so there's a decent chance of retaining them as subscribers. Makes the revenue more predictable.

barfo

 

[julius]

So many services are Nickel and dime these days and that shit adds up. Seems like these sites could earn enough off of site ads to make the knowledge available to all.

I remember as a kid thinking they should sell stuff individually (for TV), and now that they do, if you want the same shows but not have cable, you really aren't saving a ton.

For example,D ain't worth 6 or 7 $ a month. And now you can get CBS, NBC, HBO, Netflix, Amazon Prime (and extra channels with that), Hulu...

 

[wizenheimer]

It turns out that didn't work well, and the trend is to move away from advertising to a subscription model. I'm not in that business, but my limited understanding is that if you build your business based on 'clicks', then you are inexorably driven towards providing content that gets more clicks, which often isn't the same thing as providing quality content.
barfo

you just defined OLive

 

[barfo]

It turns out that didn't work well, and the trend is to move away from advertising to a subscription model. I'm not in that business, but my limited understanding is that if you build your business based on 'clicks', then you are inexorably driven towards providing content that gets more clicks, which often isn't the same thing as providing quality content. And you have lots more competition for clicks, whereas if you focus on your publishing niche, you aren't competing with pictures of cleavage and stories about Prince Harry. Whereas subscribers subscribe because they are interested in what you publish, so there's a decent chance of retaining them as subscribers. Makes the revenue more predictable.

barfo

Just as an update on this, I see in the news that The Athletic has raised a $50M investment at a $500M valuation. So, apparently the subscription model is working well for them.

barfo

 

[Shaboid]

Just as an update on this, I see in the news that The Athletic has raised a $50M investment at a $500M valuation. So, apparently the subscription model is working well for them.

barfo

Well it isn't working for me. The second I click something and hit a paywall I immediately think, "Fuck You. I'm trying to read your bullshit, not pay for it."

 

[barfo]

Well it isn't working for me. The second I click something and hit a paywall I immediately think, "Fuck You. I'm trying to read your bullshit, not pay for it."

Same here, and probably the same for most people. However... I do subscribe to a couple things where I really really care about the content, and I guess that's true of enough other people to make it work.

barfo

 

[Shaboid]

Same here, and probably the same for most people. However... I do subscribe to a couple things where I really really care about the content, and I guess that's true of enough other people to make it work.

barfo

¯\_(ツ)_/¯