Commoditized vs differentiated content strategy
Fact of the matter is that reporting the news (e.g. current events & breaking news) is a commodity business. There are two strategic approaches to commoditized offerings…
- Syndication (e.g. The Associated Press, AP):
Open source and/or non-profit.
Reward = data + licenses or donations - Modularization (e.g. wicked local sports):
Monopolize a small, niche market.
Reward = low volume * high fee subscriptions
In contrast, unique & differentiated content requires different business models depending on its sub-classification…
- Aggregation (e.g. portals & curators):
Reward = advertisements (free for users) or subscriptions (premium/freemium) - Clickbait:
Reward = high volume * low CPM advertisements - Opinion & analysis:
Reward = subscriptions or sponsored - Documentary/research/investigative:
Reward = point of sale or sponsored
That’s not an exhaustive list, and there are exceptions to every rule… but these are good guidelines.
