Facebook to support newspaper paywall subscription services

Facebook is working on a feature to support newspaper paywall subscription services via its Instant Articles service.

Instant Articles, enables publishers to share content with the social network’s users within the Facebook environment (via the site or app), meaning content loads much faster. Content is monetised with Facebook advertising and revenues divided between the network and the publisher. Feedback from the publishing industry regarding Instant Articles has so far been mixed, with the Guardian saying financial returns didn’t justify supporting the program and The Independent claiming to enjoy healthy revenues.

It is believed that this new feature, which will be reportedly launched at the end of the year, will provide Facebook users with access to a limited number of premium articles before the social network presents an opportunity for the user to purchase a paid subscription.

Media reports suggest that Facebook is launching the new service in recognition of the importance of maintaining a well-funded media landscape.

A report in The Times states that sources at Facebook have acknowledged “the increasing importance of a subscription business model in supporting the high-quality journalism that contributes to the informed communities we all care about”.

The move will almost certainly be welcomed by publishers currently offering a metered paywall service (allowing access to a limited number of articles before asking for a subscription) like The Spectator but it is not yet known if the service will be available to news titles behind “hard” paywalls such as The Times.

The value of paywalls is still up for debate with The Sun famously tearing theirs down, The Times standing firm and The Telegraph adopting a blended approach – giving most of their content away for free and charging for “premium articles”.

If the newspaper industry is to remain buoyant in this socially-led age, it must welcome initiatives like this. We cannot put the social media “genie” back in the bottle – but we can push them to for greater innovations.