Bloomberg News is doing things a little differently. In stark contrast to media heavyweights such as The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London and The New York Times, Bloomberg has launched a fresh version of its business news website supported solely by ads rather than subscription fees. A free-content approach to news provision would seem to be a departure from the company's traditional revenue model which revolves around selling subscriptions to its Bloomberg Terminals data feeds at the price of $1500/month.

In addition to its free business news offerings, minOnline reports that Bloomberg is set to become "the only major news provider to make accessible online a live feed of its TV broadcasts. A TV tab from the home page lands the users on a large media player running the current programming from Bloomberg Television as well as a library of recent clips and interviews."

Bloomberg's decision also contrasts with the direction taken by The Financial Times, which is another business-centric news provider. The FT philosophy stems from the argument that by virtue of catering primarily to business-customers (with deeper-pockets and a more tangible ROI on staying informed), it is easier to charge for content. In January 2010, when The FT raised its digital subscription prices (an indicator of the success of their paywall), the FT's CEO stated that "It's easier for us [being a business-news provider], I don't deny that. But equally, I don't think anyone can afford to dismiss the idea of developing paid-for content because journalism is valuable. It is significant in that it is reaffirming there is life beyond advertising for online publishing ... it does offer an alternative where an alternative was regarded for a long time as not existing."

It should be noted that while comparisons between Bloomberg and traditional news providers are logical, ultimately Bloomberg's business is significantly different to papers such as The WSJ or The FT. By giving away content supported by advertising, Bloomberg can gain some revenue while also adding value to its core business and brand, The Bloomberg Terminal service. Will this uniquely advantageous position cause a major headache for traditional financial news providers?

Source: minOnline