Paper or Screen - Differences in Customer Preferences and Willingness to Pay between Traditional and Digital Content Services

The digitalization and the diffusion of connected mobile devices have urged media companies to deliver their content in digital formats such as apps. We evaluate differences in customers' preferences and willingness to pay between traditional and digital content services conducting an adaptive conjoint analysis. Within this analysis we compare subscriptions to a printed newspaper with subscriptions to the website, e-paper, smartphone app or tablet app of this newspaper. Our results show that customers still prefer the printed newspaper over any digital format. The acceptance of digital newspaper formats depends on device ownership but the website is most popular in general. Our findings have profound implications for multi-platform publishing strategies. Content providers have to examine carefully in in which situations their products might be used and which devices their potential customers own in order to choose the right formats and prices.