Free readers are multiplying rapidly
According to MA Comis, more and more people are reading online news—but they don't want to pay for it
According to MA Comis, more and more people are reading online news - but they don't want to pay anythingBy Stefano Monachesi The websites of the major Swiss daily newspapers have increased significantly in terms of users. This is confirmed by the MA Comis 2002 survey conducted by Wemf AG für Werbemedienforschung. However, the financing of online advertising is still on a shaky footing. Paid content is supposed to help - but users' wallets remain closed.
Sending and receiving e-mail messages remains the most important use of the Internet for the German-speaking Swiss. As in the previous year, 97% of respondents stated that they would use the Internet for electronic mail. In contrast, only 59% are interested in up-to-date information - this also corresponds to the previous year's result within the statistical uncertainty.
In general, little has changed in terms of applications. What is most striking, however, is the fact that surfing for fun and without a goal is only mentioned by 54% compared to 64% in the previous year. The result that only 61% instead of 64% of respondents are interested in the homepages of friends and acquaintances is also consistent with this. Downloading programs has also decreased (by 5 to 63%), while going out information is finding slightly more users (+ 3 to 60%).
20min.ch has gained the most users
Although the number of people looking for up-to-date information has not changed, the providers of this information can look forward to impressive growth rates. The websites of the major daily newspapers significantly increased their narrow user base (ENK). First and foremost is blick.ch with 255,000 people (+18%) who visit the website at least once a week. Nzz.ch recorded 18,000 people (+ 33%), tages-anzeiger.ch 155,000 (+ 13%) and 20min.ch 138,000 people (+ 52%). This means that all of them (with the exception of TA) have significantly more new users than the Internet as a whole: the MA Comis database increased by 13.7% to 2.289 million people in 2002.
The situation is less successful for the magazines. Facts, NZZ Folio, Schweizer Familie and Annabelle all suffered losses. Facts.ch, the largest magazine site, lost almost 11% of ENK and now has 59,000 people.
At the top of the user rankings are still bluewin.ch (1.145 million) and
search.ch (601000). No trend can be identified for classified platforms. However, address services are on the rise. Weisseseiten.ch more than tripled its user base (now 17,000 people), while its competitor tel.search.ch grew by 57% to 324,000 people.
It remains to be seen how the growing user base can be translated into financial success. As an advertising medium, the Internet has not yet gained momentum despite its good reach. This is also indicated by the information provided by respondents on how they found the e-commerce services they use. Banner advertising in particular
once 11%. Press (42%) and TV (19%) are more important for publicizing a website. 56% used search engines and web catalogs, 47% followed tips from acquaintances. If even websites hardly operate with banners, there is unlikely to be much to be gained here in the foreseeable future.
Many online providers are therefore experimenting with paid content. However, most users are skeptical about this. Only for music and program downloads and access to databases would a majority of those who already use such services be willing to pay something. On the other hand, 73% of users of stock market information cannot imagine spending money on it. 70% do not want to pay for entertainment, 71% for business information and 81% for weather forecasts. The least popular paid services are daily news (82%) and job advertisements (83%). This means that online media have little prospect of generating revenue. However, there is growing hope that users will become accustomed to paid content. 53% of those surveyed expect that they will have to dig deeper into their pockets for Internet content in the future.
Sending and receiving e-mail messages remains the most important use of the Internet for the German-speaking Swiss. As in the previous year, 97% of respondents stated that they would use the Internet for electronic mail. In contrast, only 59% are interested in up-to-date information - this also corresponds to the previous year's result within the statistical uncertainty.
In general, little has changed in terms of applications. What is most striking, however, is the fact that surfing for fun and without a goal is only mentioned by 54% compared to 64% in the previous year. The result that only 61% instead of 64% of respondents are interested in the homepages of friends and acquaintances is also consistent with this. Downloading programs has also decreased (by 5 to 63%), while going out information is finding slightly more users (+ 3 to 60%).
20min.ch has gained the most users
Although the number of people looking for up-to-date information has not changed, the providers of this information can look forward to impressive growth rates. The websites of the major daily newspapers significantly increased their narrow user base (ENK). First and foremost is blick.ch with 255,000 people (+18%) who visit the website at least once a week. Nzz.ch recorded 18,000 people (+ 33%), tages-anzeiger.ch 155,000 (+ 13%) and 20min.ch 138,000 people (+ 52%). This means that all of them (with the exception of TA) have significantly more new users than the Internet as a whole: the MA Comis database increased by 13.7% to 2.289 million people in 2002.
The situation is less successful for the magazines. Facts, NZZ Folio, Schweizer Familie and Annabelle all suffered losses. Facts.ch, the largest magazine site, lost almost 11% of ENK and now has 59,000 people.
At the top of the user rankings are still bluewin.ch (1.145 million) and
search.ch (601000). No trend can be identified for classified platforms. However, address services are on the rise. Weisseseiten.ch more than tripled its user base (now 17,000 people), while its competitor tel.search.ch grew by 57% to 324,000 people.
It remains to be seen how the growing user base can be translated into financial success. As an advertising medium, the Internet has not yet gained momentum despite its good reach. This is also indicated by the information provided by respondents on how they found the e-commerce services they use. Banner advertising in particular
once 11%. Press (42%) and TV (19%) are more important for publicizing a website. 56% used search engines and web catalogs, 47% followed tips from acquaintances. If even websites hardly operate with banners, there is unlikely to be much to be gained here in the foreseeable future.
Many online providers are therefore experimenting with paid content. However, most users are skeptical about this. Only for music and program downloads and access to databases would a majority of those who already use such services be willing to pay something. On the other hand, 73% of users of stock market information cannot imagine spending money on it. 70% do not want to pay for entertainment, 71% for business information and 81% for weather forecasts. The least popular paid services are daily news (82%) and job advertisements (83%). This means that online media have little prospect of generating revenue. However, there is growing hope that users will become accustomed to paid content. 53% of those surveyed expect that they will have to dig deeper into their pockets for Internet content in the future.
