News Corp. has advised newsagents in South Australia that it will remove price protection for home delivered product within weeks. Here is the advice the company provided newsagents:
Please note that News Corp has decided to remove the price protect for home delivery customers with the forthcoming price increase for the Sunday Mail on Nov 2, 2014. Thus, please charge full price for all home delivery customers from Monday October 27. At the same your rate for agent collect flat wrap copies will rise to the same as the retail papers.
Many years ago newsagents told News that home delivery customers were not concerned about price for the quality premium service. It will be interesting to see what customers think today with the status of newspapers now compared to then so different.
How the landscape for News Corp. and Newsagents has changed
I can recall not that many years ago when News Corp were reluctant to increase cover prices for fear of a drop in circulation ,the same argument was always rolled out for delivery fee increases.
But now News Corp are scrambling for every cent they can get. With advertising revenue drying up for the print medium. Newspapers are on death row .
News Corp continue to advertise their digital news services in the newspaper .I’m unsure of their strategy , when is the tipping point as to when newspapers cease and digital is their main platform.
I believe some weekday papers may go first maybe Tuesday to Thursday , with weekend papers hanging on longer.
It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few years
I believe that the day that the digital advertising meets the trajectory of the print media advertising revenue the paper will close forthwith.
When that will be is anybody’s guess, and
don’t expect any lead in time with the Murdoch press or the Fairfax press.
I’l note again that I expect a capital city daily newspaper to retreat from daily or altogether sometime in the next year.
Pardon my ignorance, but can someone explain, for the benefit of an industry newcomer, exactly what is/was the ‘price protect’ relating to home deliveries and how this affected newsagents? Thank you.