Tidesports.com (Tuscaloosa News) now charging for content

Seeing as how tidesports.com currently has the wrong player mug up for Brandon Deaderick -- a player who was shot last night -- I say they are off to a rip-roaring start.


rb

 

You didn't spring for the pay site, did you?

 

GoVolsxtra started as a pay site. I can assure you it did not fail. I should know since I have been here since the start and checked the numbers almost every day.
We had a subscriber base of more than 4,000 and a revenue stream that was bringing in money that the paper was not receiving. The decision to drop the pay wall was to generate page views and more visitors with the belief that online advertising would be a great source of income.
We may have one of the largest audiences for college football in terms of page views and unique visitors. Signing day we had more than 3 million page views. Advertising? We're working on that like everyone else.
Just wanted to set the record straight.

Phil Kaplan
Deputy sports editor
Knoxville News Sentinel

 

What was the disconnect between the revenue stream and the paper, Phil?

 

If the paper was not receiving the revenue, who was?
And Phil, are you guys considering going back to that?

 

I guess I wasn't clear. The paper had not been receiving the revenue the Web site was generating in the past because 95 percent of the GVX subscribers were outside the area and did not get the paper.
It was like adding 4,000 plus to circulation.
At this time there is no plan to charge.

 

Are you making more now with the free site than you were before?

 

Um, no.

 

Had to ask...

 

I wonder what the female population in the Tuscaloosa area would think about the T-News' *next* idea for the pay site ...

"Bama Belles", basically softcore porn for Alabama fans -- chicks in semi-undress, with houndstooth or crimson creatively covering their naughty bits.

I have the photos, naturally, of one "subject". Trying to figure out how to post them.

rb

 

NICE!

 

The EE of the T-News was on Finebaum the other day (I know). He said that Tidesports.com (before the new spinoff) got around 300,000 regular visitors. Out of that number, 7% came from Tuscaloosa County.