Content Moves: Apps Proliferate as European Newspapers Put Up Online Paywalls

More than one big story from Europe this month. While all eyes in the mobile industry are focused on the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, more leading newspapers are beginning to charge for content.

During its first two days—February 15 and 16—much of the attention at MWC went to new phone launches, including the unveiling of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 Series, and new models from Samsung, Sagem and HTC. All, like the iPhone before them, have large, rather gorgeous color screens. The kind of screens that make sharing photos, playing games and watching video on a handset positively enjoyable. But not only that. The size and resolution of these screens also makes it relatively easy for users to read newspaper and magazine content.

The German publisher Axel Springer has already launched iPhone apps for two of its papers, Bild and Die Welt. Available since December 2009, both now rank in the top 10 selling iPhone apps in Germany, according to ClickandBuy.

Meanwhile two other Springer titles, the Berliner Morgenpost and Hamburger Abendblatt, have instituted paywalls controlling access to some or all of their articles. Both charge a monthly fee, though some national news is still free on the Abendblatt site.

In France, Le Monde also charges for access to premium content. Le Figaro is expected to implement fees later this month, while L’Express apparently plans to climb on the bandwagon later in 2010.

Since the Guardian clocked up 70,000 downloads of its iPhone app in a single month, newspapers have even more reason to take the app route. But they may also be encouraged by the cost/value equation implicit in paid apps. If readers will pay for prime content on their mobiles (where data tariffs can push the cost even higher), why not ask them to do so online? If content is worth viewing on a small screen, it should also be valuable on a larger one.