Yediot Ahronot Group is working on a project that will see some of the content on the popular news website ynet put behind a paywall. Sources believe that the project will start being implemented after the holidays in October.
Putting up paywalls is gaining momentum worldwide due to the difficulty in generating sufficient digital advertising revenue - a field dominated by Facebook and Google. Ynet's paywall will not require every surfer to pay but charges will be according to various criteria such as frequency and location.
The only paywall currently operating in Israel is by "Haaretz" and its financial newspaper "The Marker." "Haaretz" says it has 36,000 paying users for its website, either paying NIS 45 per month, or gaining access through various special offers.
Attempts to introduce a paywall at a mainstream, popular news website like ynet will be a major challenge.
The paywall project is being led by Yediot Ahronot CEO Avi Ben Tal together with recently appointed VP Alon Goldstein.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 22, 2018
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