Content to overtake ads in generating FT revenue

Katie Allen of The Guardian in London reports Monday that the Financial Times newspaper will generate more revenue from its content than from selling advertising by 2012.

Allen writes, “Stoking the debate over paid news content and the survival of newspapers, the FT Group chief executive, John Ridding, says the landmark moment vindicates the FT’s strategy to charge. He has long advocated that other publishers should follow suit and abandon a ‘free is good’ doctrine.

“‘In some of the key areas we are at a crucial stage of transformation, so that we reckon next year will be the first year that revenues from content overtake revenues from print advertising,’ he says. ‘The way things are evolving, content revenues should overtake all advertising revenues by 2012.’

“When the FT embarked on a strategy of charging online and raising its cover price ‘people thought we were a bit strange,’ recalls Ridding.”

Read more here.