Online paid content models are constantly changing as many publishers continue to find themselves between the 'paid-for' and/or 'supplement by' sides of monetising fence. At a time when some publishers are reverting to 'paid-for' services, Nielson's most recent report highlights a further shift in attitudes.

In what might be perceived as a never-ending bid to make YouTube profitable, Google has launched a new movie rental arm. The Google-owned video rental site debuted an online movie rental campaign to a limited target-base, allowing users to rent five different flicks from the Sundance Film Festival using their Google Checkout accounts. When the numbers have been crunched, perhaps Google itself will let the World know how it sees the balance between paid and subsidised content panning out in the future.

What this does confirm, however, is that users are paying for entertainment. Movies, music and games are on top of the list. Through the fear of global anti-copyright theft messaging or through respect for artist 'peers', this is somewhat logical. However, when it comes to daily news consumption, social commentary and even consumer-generated content; revenue generating models are more complex.

Ultimately, one question remains: Can publishers build new subscriber-only and paid-for media consumption models in an existing online World where the consumer is still expects free-access?

Nielsen's article 'Changing Models: A Global Perspective on Paying for Content Online' is a recommended read. Nielsen asked more than 27,000 consumers across 52 countries, and the answer is a definitive 'maybe' stating that, while consumers believe that existing free content should remain free, 'opportunities are to be found in the details'.

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/changing-models-a-global-pers...