The Huffington Post and Online Revenue Models

The Huffington Post's web traffic will likely surpass that of the New York Times in the next two years, according to ComScore and other online measurement firms. But what about revenue? In 2009, the Huffington Post generated about $15 million, while the Times booked $1 billion. Of course, most of the Times revenue comes from traditional sources, not its online division. The Times online revenue is estimated to be about $150 million <http://www.businessinsider.com/huffington-post-comes-of-age-2010-5#ixzz0ohBTtGpl> .

Starting next year, the New York Times will erect its pay wall around the web site. What exact form that will take is still not clear. Yet every publisher that has erected a pay wall (including the Times a few years ago) finds that total web traffic drops. They key is to maximize potential subscription revenue to make up for (and then some) the shortfall in advertising revenue due to the loss of traffic from the free version of the site. So, while the Times tries to dial in the perfect pay wall model for its site, the Huffington Post will presumably see its business continue to grow and thrive, in terms of site traffic, revenue and content. The Post may never reach the same revenue figures as the Times, but the overall trajectory is upwards, whereas that does not appear to be the case for traditional publishing companies