Submission + - Cost of digital media versus print media
sv_libertarian writes: "I was looking at the Anchorage Daily News website today http://www.adn.com/ and noticed they offer a nice e-edition of their newspaper for $9.95 per month, while delivery of the print edition within the Anchorage area is $16.35 per month. This got me thinking about the value of professionally created news. With a print newspaper much of the cost is in delivery, although there of course is profit built into it. With an e-edition, the distribution cost is much less, but less advertising is included with it (inserts in the paper)so it isn't as profitable as the print version. All of the costs for news generation must still be covered though, regardless of how the product is distributed. So the question is, what is the value of an electronic version of a product that is also being distributed in hard copy? The simple answer of course is "what the market will bear" but I suspect there is something greater than that working behind the scenes. Have people come to expect to pay less for a digital version of a product, or is it expected to offer an e product and a smaller discount than a hard copy, allowing for reduced production and distribution costs?"