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Whats More? Ad rev or Sub Rev?
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) - One of the oldest debates on the Internet -- whether subscription or advertising business models best support media sites -- is getting fresh attention these days.
That's because the gap between what's spent for online content and what advertisers are willing to place on the Web is widening.
Based on fresh reports Monday, the ratio of online ad dollars spent vs. content paid for will end the year at roughly 10 to 1.5, a significant leap from several years back.
"I can recall noting three years ago that online advertising was about three to four times the amount spent on paid content," said Michael Zimbalist, president of the Online Publishing Association.
On Monday, the OPA reported that web surfers spent $853 million in the first half of this year on paid content. That was a 14 percent increase from the same period in the previous year. The increase was due in large part to a surge in music downloads, such as people buying songs from Apple's (AAPL, Trade) i-Tunes, for instance. Subscription fees for business investment content fell 6 percent in the same period.
There is not enough content online!
Holy shit!
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