調查發現讀者仍不願爲在線新聞付費

The media industry failed last year to persuade More customers to pay for its online news services, in spite of experimenting with new ways of charging for content, new research has found.

一項新研究發現，儘管嘗試了新的內容收費方法，媒體行業去年仍未能說服更多客戶爲在線新聞服務付費。

According to a survey of 19,000 people in 10 countries, conducted by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, only one internet user in 10 was willing to pay for digital news last year – exactly the same proportion as in 2012.

根據一項針對10個國家1.9萬人的調查，去年只有十分之一的互聯網用戶願意爲數字新聞付費，與2012年持平。該調查由牛津大學(University of Oxford)路透新聞學研究所(Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism)聯合展開。

These findings come as traditional media groups, including News Corp and Axel Springer, continue to adapt their business models in an attempt to generate more money online, and offset rapidly declining revenues from print products.

在這項調查展開之際，包括新聞集團(News Corp)和Axel Springer在內的傳統媒體集團正繼續改革業務模式，以賺取更多在線收入，抵銷印刷產品收入快速下滑的影響。

“For many, this remains a battle for survival,” the researchers argued.

這項調查背後的研究人員稱，對於很多媒體公司而言，這仍是一場生存之戰。

In 2012, they had recorded a rapid rise in paying customers, as many publishers started to charge for online news content for the first time. But the most recent survey showed that the growth came to an abrupt halt last year.

2012年時，付費用戶數量迅速增加，因爲很多出版商開始首次對在線新聞內容收費。但調查發現，去年增速陷入停滯。

However, it did contain some encouraging news for media groups as, even though paying customer numbers remained flat, the proportion willing to commit to subscriptions – as opposed to one-off payments, day passes or app downloads – increased.

然而，調查結果也包括一些鼓舞人心的亮點：儘管付費用戶數量未見增長，但願意成爲“訂閱用戶”（指經常性交費，而非一次性付款、或只爲24小時內閱讀付費、或只是下載應用程序）的用戶比例有所上升。

Of all those paying for online news, 59 per cent now have a subscription, compared with 43 per cent in 2012. As subscribers generally pay more than occasional customers, they are likely to have boosted the online revenues for many publishers.

在爲在線新聞付費的用戶中，59%現在接受訂閱服務，高過2012的43%。由於訂戶付費一般高於臨時用戶，這可能會提高很多出版機構的在線收入。

Of those users who are willing to pay for online news, the majority are from higher income and better educated social groups, the Reuters report claimed.

路透報告稱，願意爲在線新聞付費的用戶中，大多數來自收入較高且受過良好教育的社會階層。

They tend to favour the bigger and better-known news brands, or those delivering financial news. In the US, 30 per cent of those subscribing to a digital news service chose the New York Times, 32 per cent opted for a local or city paper, and 16 per cent selected the Wall Street Journal.

他們往往青睞更知名、規模更大的新聞品牌或者金融新聞提供商。在美國，訂閱數字新聞服務的用戶中，有30%選擇《紐約時報》(New York Times)，32%選擇當地報紙，16%選擇《華爾街日報》(Wall Street Journal)。

Elsewhere, the leading subscription publications were The Times in the UK, Bild in Germany, Le Monde in France, and El Mundo in Spain.

在其他地區，被訂閱最多的報紙包括英國的《泰晤士報》(The Times)、德國的《圖片報》(Bild)、法國的《世界報》(Le Monde)以及西班牙的《El Mundo》。

But the research found that the majority of web users continues to seek online news from free services, such as the BBC News website and Daily Mail and General Trust’s MailOnline – as well as newer sites such as BuzzFeed and Upworthy.

研究發現，大多數互聯網用戶繼續通過免費服務獲取在線新聞。這些免費服務包括英國廣播公司新聞網站(BBC News)、每日郵報信託集團(Daily Mail and General Trust)的MailOnline，以及BuzzFeed和Upworthy等創立時間更短的網站。