Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Tablet News Apps
Résumé
Media companies are facing the need to adjust their established business models owing to media convergence. Applications (apps) for mobile devices such as tablet computers offer the potential to enter new markets in order to overcome decreasing revenue from established distribution channels (i.e. selling printed newspapers). This study uses a choice-based conjoint analysis to investigate (a) whether consumers demonstrate willingness to pay (WTP) for tablet news apps and (b) whether online advertising is negatively related to consumers’ WTP. The results reveal that two segments of the market for tablet news apps can be distinguished: a large segment (about 60%) of our sample lacks WTP for tablet news apps, whereas a smaller segment (about 40%) of our sample exhibits moderate WTP.