Survey

Study investigates German willingness to pay for journalism

24 September 2020
nextMedia.Hamburg conducted survey in run-up to scoopcamp 2020

Around 43 per cent of Germans said more transparent research and clearer sources would raise their willingness to pay for journalistic offers, according to a survey by nextMedia.Hamburg conducted in the run-up to scoopcamp on Thursday (September 24, 2020). The digital market and opinion research company, Civey, had interviewed more than 2,500 people on September 3-4 on behalf of nextMedia.Hamburg.

Five to EUR 15 per month for journalistic offers

Around 81 per cent of media consumers are willing to pay for journalistic offers and 30 per cent of interviewees were willing to pay five to EUR 15 per month. At the same time, every third user was prepared to spend a total of EUR 15 per month on print and digital products. The older the user, the greater the willingness to pay. Around 45 per cent of those over 65 years would pay more than EUR 15. Every tenth person in that age group was prepared to spend more than EUR 40 per month on journalism.

 

Journalism and science

The survey offers some reference points on how media producers might raise payment readiness among Germans. Collaborations between journalists and academics have gained popularity in recent months, for instance, the NDR radio podcast, "The Coronavirus Update" with Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten, Director of Virology, at Berlin's Charité hospital. One in four respondents said they would spend more money on journalism with less advertising, and 19 per cent would like more or improved exclusive reports. Combined-subscriptions would prompt 15 per cent of Germans and especially the 18 to 39-year target group to pay money. The results of the survey are representative of the German population aged 18 years and over and in particular for users of journalistic offers.

 

Bar chart showing conditions under which people would pay more for journalistic content, with transparency ranked highest at 43%.
Survey: Willingness to pay for journalism

Scoopcamp goes hybrid 

This year's scoopcamp, organized by nextMedia.Hamburg and Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, is going online. The  live hybrid event can be attended both analogously and digitally under the motto of "New Storytelling". Topics on the agenda include sourcing opportunities for media companies, managing the latest developments and potential collaborations between journalists and academics. Delegates can also expect a diverse programme with a keynote by Jeff Jarvis, a U.S. journalist and professor of journalism in New York, and a closing panel discussion with Peter Kropsch, Managing Director of dpa, among others. Tickets for the digital version are available free of charge.

sm/sb/pb

Sources and further information

Similar articles

Modern glass office building with OTTO logo on top under a partly cloudy sky.

Otto Group driving digitalisation forward

Digital expert, Dr. Hanna Huber, outlines race for technology, AI and digital lunches at Otto
Two female musicians performing on stage, one singing and the other playing electric bass guitar.

Reeperbahn Festival sets bar for live music events amid corona

Limited tickets available for Europe's biggest club festival and digital conference
Multiple glowing pendant lights suspended from the ceiling against a plain background.

Silberstreifen Award: Ten Hamburg design projects honoured

Designxport and the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft make the first Silberstreifen Award for social, economic and ecological solutions
Man in suit crouching on grass, preparing a white drone with clock tower and trees in the background.

Clusters co-operating across sectors in Hamburg

Latest annual report highlights rise in skill pooling and cross-cluster activities
The Consent Management Platform (https://app.usercentrics.eu/) we use could not be loaded. This can happen if AdBlockers incorrectly block this URL. Some features such as maps, proximity search or forms, cannot be used this way. To use these features, please deactivate your AdBlocker or allow access to *.usercentrics.eu.