Free Website Content is Near the End of an Era

(OiP)— Are the days of accessing free internet content now numbered? If you don’t think it will happen, you better seriously reconsider that notion.

Barry Diller, chairman and chief executive officer of IAC/InterActiveCorp, said in the “near future” a fee will be put into effect to access once-free internet content.

Walt Disney Co. CEO Robert Iger also believes that we are wrapping up the final chapters of the free internet.

Are you willing to pay for internet content in the near future? And what services would you render worthy?

The prospect of paying for internet content in it’s entirety is nothing new, considering that telephone and radio services that were once free of charge are now profiting substantially from administering those subscription charges.

There was a time in recent history when cable TV was free for your viewing pleasure. Now, the average digital cable customer pays almost $75 a month, according to research firm Centris. In the past, radio listeners accessed free music on AM/FM radio, and only had to buy a receiver to hear your favorite tunes, but now there is satellite radio.

Depending on the services you render, satellite radio receivers for your home are estimated at $240 – $700 according to SatelliteRadioUsa. Car satellite radios also cost $150-350 depending on your specific system, with a fee of $12.95/month for Sirius Satellite radio and XM Radio alike.

Just as watching television and listening to the radio has become more pricey over the years, the internet is next for the media industry to stamp their price-tags on.

With a dropping dollar value, and already menacing economic conditions, the industry is reliant more than ever on consumers to help even out their losses.

Considering the very real possibility of Web-based television, it is no secret that the entire industry is slowly transitioning from free content to cheaply-priced content, already in usage on Apple’s i-Tunes, for example. Hulu.com is another where you can readily access your favorite web-based TV shows and movies in streaming video right from your computer.

But it does not end solely with web-based TV, but web-based content, period.

So, how much of your budget ( if any) would you set aside for new subscription-based website content?