The Guardian has claimed that its readers are happy to pay for online content citing the success of their iPhone application. According to the newspaper their app has been downloaded 68,979 times in the first month of its release. The app costs £2.39, an expensive price considering similar apps from the Telegraph, Independent and Financial Times are all free, but it has climbed steadily up the UK App store charts and as a result is now available in other European countries, the US and Australia.
The Guardian claims that one reason the app has been so successful despite the price tag is the impressive number of downloads available on the app. As a result the app ‘proves to the industry that users are willing to pay for a news application.’
Our question would be whether this is a more of a reflection on the Guardian’s technologically minded readership, many of whom will be regular iPhone users and Guardian loyalists? Our view is that this isn't definitive proof that readers are willing to pay for online news content. More to come in this area over the next few months.
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