Rupert Murdoch is still juggling the pros and cons of changing the online Wall Street Journal to a free site, moving away from the subscription model. Every day he seems to be leaning more that way, although the final decision hasn't been made yet.
The online version of the Journal has about 989,000 subscribers at this time; over a 25 percent increase from the third quarter last year. Murdoch believes if it goes free, it could attract somewhere between 10 to 15 million visitors from around the globe.
The question is how many visitors would it take to not only make up for the guaranteed monthly income the subscription model brings the company, and how long will it take. That's what's being mulled over at this time by News Corp. (NWS-A).
As far as the print publication, Murdoch said he's looking at expanding it in the U.S. by between 15 to 20 percent. The weekend version may be increased by double the size it is now over time.
He also confirmed recently that he is going to increase the amount of national and international news, a direct challenge to the New York Times (NYT) and Financial Times in Britain.
Another huge growth area he's looking at is China and India, where he says he will launch versions of the Journal targeting those specific markets.
Other financial properties News Corp. will get with the Dow Jones (DJ) acquisition are MarketWatch, Factiva, Barron's and Dow Jones Newswires.
Sponsored link: The outsourcing every manager requires - Tampa Locksmith
Comment Preview