PAYWALL RESULTS IN BIG DROP IN “VARIETY’S” PAGE VIEWS

Since reinstalling a paywall on its website last December, Daily Variety has seen its number of page views fall from 3.2 million to 1.8 million — a drop of 41 percent, according to Nielsen Research. As reported by MediaPost on Monday, the number of unique visitors to the trade publication’s website has fallen just 18 percent, probably due to the fact that Variety allows users to view up to five articles a month for free. The Nielsen report did not indicate whether Variety‘s advertising rates for the website have changed or whether the pay wall has resulted in a significant increase in paid subscriptions ($250 per year). MediaPost quoted a Variety spokesperson as saying that a briefing on how the new strategy is doing is coming.