Punch News Paper, a top Nigerian Media outfit has decided to restrict its web content to paid users. The Punch first launched the restriction policy on its WAP application, people were asked to go get scratch card from their sales outlet which are not available nationwide.

As someone pointed out on Nairaland that; He’s been expecting this kind of service from a Nigerian site but unfortunately it came from Punch. On our monthly ranking of Most Visit Nigerian Site, punchng.com displaced Nairaland for couple of months (May and June) prior to the implementation of the restriction policy. The recent ranking (July) saw a massive fall of punchng.com from number 1 spot to 7th amongst Nigerian sites and 38th from 16th from overall sites.

Punch, a an household name in the Nigerian media industry and the integrity it has amass over the years needs to really understand the model of the internet and how to better serve their esteemed readers. As a News outfit, we believe that Punch makes quite huge money on advert placement (whihch are primarily derived by readers visit) and to see them dissuade from the source is like a river that forgets its source sooner or later it will dry up. Less than 2 months they implemented this policy, the results has been hitting the site hard and I believe if this step is reverse ASAP they can regain their lost glory.

The rules of the Internet

The internet has proven over the years that, it is an abode for people seeking information from low to no cost at all. Hence the company that understood this have benefited extremely from it. Google currently ranks amongst the biggest firms in the whole world; offers most of its services for free. Yahoo also derives its profit  by capitalizing on the free services it provides for the teeming internet audience. Coming to the industry; quite a number of Nigerian news firms operate their sites for free. They really need to put themselves in the shoes of their readers to see if they would pay for news service which is widely available online for free with local content? Most of Nigerian news agencies writes about similar topic hence people wont think twice before the switch over to a competing site.

The rule offline makes the model thrive because of; Space and time, Cost of printing, and the primary culture. The rules offline are not applicable as it more or less  like a reserve of the rules. Fine, we have web designers and developers, like I have always said, people who knows about the business side of it should be involved taking decisions like this. The trend on the internet is so conscious that whatever wrong step you take, you pay for it dearly!

Counting the loses

1. Reader exodus: As many people get angry over this decision the more they search for alternative hence punch loosing readers’ base.
2. Lost Revenue: Punch really needs to understand that, its not because is paper is widely read offline that makes people advertise on their site but because of their online visit to the site. If relying on the print is the decision why spending money online if people don’t get to see them?
3. Cost of regaining lost ground: I saw how Punch publicized its paid wap platform and how much they spend in printing cards for their scratch card merchants. Now that its loosing ground bit by bit, when it eat deep into their bone I expect them to take a U-turn hence the need to place more advert to creating awareness about the “policy-summersault” .
4. Emergence of a via alternative: Well as punch is digging its own grave so its buying another’s empire. On the internet, when people don’t like you product/service, they don’t just quit and go to sleep, they switch over (see Myspace and facebook). The new media outfit that is just gaining ground 234next.com as seen a push in its visits after punch started their experiments. I see this giving people freedom to check out other website for a better alternative. I will use an economic term to describe what will happen to Punch; “Capital Flight”.

Can punch still bounce back?

Well, I will say yes! The policy just started having effect on Punchng.com, so there is room for them to make necessary amendments now! If they don’t do that now, they will have to pay for it!

I think they should understand these basics;

• On the internet; free stuff brings in the biggest profit (ask Google and Yahoo)
• You can have free and paid service run at par to weigh your performance before choosing one.
• The world is going digital and soonest paper will fade out (Look what is happening to news papers in the US)
• If you fail to offer the service, people will get it readily elsewhere
• Involves web strategist into you decision making process so as to make you services align with the current trends in the market for better profitability.
• Free! Free!! Free!!! That is my definition of the internet. So if you want to play, try to play it freely!

So what will you advise Punch to do now? Or do you think it will work? Drop a comment!