A free, ad-supported WSJ.com would make huge waves in the online financial media sector, with significant impact on competitors’ audience, content strategies and advertising sales. Yahoo Finance, CNNMoney, New York Times, TheStreet.com, and Seeking Alpha are watching closely and considering how a free WSJ.com - which Rupert Murdoch has openly endorsed - will alter the landscape.
To understand both the likelihood of that event and its impact, we need some clear numbers on what it would mean first and foremost to News Corp./Dow Jones. Does it even make sense for Rupert to set WSJ.com free?