Thomson Reuters launches new mobile platforms - and will add "paid element in time"

Posted by Helena Deards on May 12, 2009 at 10:50 AM

In what the Financial Times describes as "a first step towards charging for its content on smartphones", Thomson Reuters has launched overhauled its mobile applications. The new apps contain video and market data, as well as headlines. Whilst remaining free for the moment, Alisa Bowen, head of consumer publishing at the company added "It would be a logical conclusion that there would be a paid element in time... The ability to launch premium services is our ultimate goal."

Similarly, the Wall Street Journal's iPhone and Blackberry applications remain free - despite content being charged for on the publication's website. However, Rupert Murdoch recently revealed that users of the paper's iPhone application would soon be required to "pay handsomely". Journal editor Robert Thomson also revealed that it will launch "a sophisticated micropayments service" for the main website this autumn.

Both Thomson Reuters and the Wall Street Journal are in discussion with Amazon's Kindle, which came under fire from Murdoch in particular for only giving partners 30% of revenue generated. Bowen said that Reuters is "seeing a willingness to discuss [the Kindle business model] from Amazon". Thomson, however, is keen that its own Kindle service should be seen as an experiment and not a serious business relationship.

The growing importance of mobile platforms and e-readers within news and journalism tie in with the larger paid online content discussion. The current anomaly between WSJ's paid online content and free mobile content appears like it will soon be resolved, whilst Thomson Reuters seemsss to want to add some aspect of its mobile platforms into its paid for services. It is an ongoing debate, and it will be interesting to see in future how much mobile content remains free.

Source: Financial Times