BusinessDay’s digital paywall platform is expected to launch today (Tuesday), after its planned release on Monday, May 6, failed as a result of technical problems.
Peter Bruce, publisher and editor-in-chief at BusinessDay, confessed there were still obstacles to obtain smooth functionality.
He said: “The paywall, bless it, has for one or another reason fallen over at the last minute.”
Bruce is still unsure whether the South African market is too small to host a paywall however, he believes it will be worthwhile to have it running soon.
“I am tired of giving away our product for nothing. What I do know is that, if only for our print newspaper, this is the right thing to do,” he told Businesstech.
Referring to the launch of paywalls on renowned newspapers such as The Financial Times, in the UK, and The New York Times, in the United States, Bruce believes “paywalls are not controversial anymore”.
He suggested the printed version of Business Day would continue in collaboration with its digitised version BDlive as the content differs, but work well together as catering for crowds on different levels.
“There’s a whopping great discount on the combination subscription. Payment by credit card will be secure and digital delivery instant,” Bruce wrote in his column Thick End of the Wedge.
