The Rise of Content Paywalls: Evolution of Content, Consumers, and Commerce

What comes first - Consumer or Content? If you asked a news publisher this question a few years ago, they would have said, "Content is everything."And rightfully so, because content has always been the major reason a reader chose one newspaper or magazine over another.

Fast forward to present, when digital has surpassed physical (In fiscal year 2021, India reported 44 billion digital payments) connecting the right content with the right consumer is practically impossible. As a result, there is a need to understand the customer - where do they exist? What are they reading? Why are they reading it? How do they act in the digital world? How much do they spend? When, how much, and where? Why aren't they as loyal online as they were in person? And so forth...The last two years have been difficult. For the world and content publishers who have lost money owing to falling ad revenue and rising costs, sustaining with a minimal number of subscribers to support is a mirage. Reiterating the importance of refocusing on commerce—this time online.

The Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI) recently conducted a virtual panel to better understand the progression of Content, Consumer, and Commerce in the face of the proliferation of content paywalls throughout India and the world. Representatives from two of India's biggest news publications, Nandagopal Rajan from The Indian Express and Pradeep Gairola from The Hindu – both of whom were early adopters of paywalls – along with the CEO of ConsCent, Sunny Sen, gathered on this panel to offer their perspectives on the matter.

To watch the full conversation, check out the video below:

For those of you who love to read, here's a downloadable transcript of the entire conversation.