A new study carried out by the Boston Consulting Group has found that 48 percent of regular internet users in the United States would be prepared to pay for their online news; a considerably lower figure than many other Western countries, the New York Times has reported. In several European countries, more than 60 percent said they would pay for online content, although the American result tied with Britain for the lowest figure among nine countries where Boston Consulting conducted their surveys.

The question as to how much they would be prepared to pay was also met with disparate results. Readers of online news in America and Australia claimed to be prepared to spend just $3 a month, whereas those in Italy averaged $7. The study also found that in every country, those willing to pay the most for news online were also those who already spend the most on staying up to date - regular newspaper readers.

Senior partner and head of the group's global media practice, John Rose, explained the findings as emblematic of "consumer willingness and intent to pay" which is "related to the availability of a rich amount of free content", as, according to Rose, "there is more, better, richer free in the United States than anywhere else."

Rose and Dominic Field, a partner and head of the Boston Consulting media practice in the Americas, went on to say that in Western European countries, news is delivered by a handful of big names, in contrast to the US, where the news market is fragmented. It is to be expected that even if news outlets did join together to charge for online content, consumers would still be able to find and access free sources on the web.

No doubt the results are of prime importance to the American newspaper industry, having suffered the effects of the economic downturn and subsequent plummet in print advertising, and will be factored in to the ongoing decision as to whether to introduce further pay walls on news web sites. The study, which drew from a survey of 5,000 people, concluded that charging for online access to news would not greatly increase a newspaper's revenue, but since the cost of reaching Internet readers was particularly low, could significantly increase profit.

Source: New York Times