• by Erik Sass , October 21, 2009

After a flurry of new content partnerships and acquisitions, yet another new business content offering was announced Wednesday. Seeking to build revenues by delivering more specialized content to business professionals, The Wall Street Journal is planning to launch an online "Professional Edition" in partnership with Dow Jones' various business information services.

The new online product targets regular WSJ online readers who need even more detailed information about business and finance -- for example, the nitty-gritty of corporate bonds or energy markets, according to the WSJ Web site.

The move clearly positions WSJ and Dow Jones as a competitor to Bloomberg LLP. According to WSJ, at $49 per month, the new service hopes to find subscribers in the previously underserved pool of executives from smaller and mid-sized companies who might not be able to afford Bloomberg's pricier business information service.

However, the WSJ Professional Edition is also well-placed to poach Bloomberg subscribers looking for a cheaper alternative. After the initial $49 subscription, extra subscriptions can be added for $12 per month each.

By comparison, a Bloomberg Professional subscription costs about $1,800 a month for the first terminal setup, plus $1,500 per month for each additional terminal.

Along with WSJ content, the WSJ Professional Edition will deliver information from the Dow Jones Newswires and Factiva, which aggregates roughly 17,000 sources.

The last couple of months have seen a series of major acquisitions and partnerships reshape the business publishing world. Last week, Bloomberg acquired BusinessWeek as part of a larger strategy to increase exposure of Bloomberg content through more consumer-oriented publications, including a joint newswire and content-sharing arrangement with The Washington Post.

Also last week, Thomson Reuters acquired Breakingviews, a clearinghouse for financial-opinion columns published in newspapers around the world. With the acquisition, Thomson Reuters will gain access to opinionated analysis of the business world, complementing its in-depth but more straightforward business and finance content.

In June, Thomson Reuters signed a deal with Captivate Network, bringing both news content and advertising to Captivate's digital displays in office buildings. The deal expands Captivate's business information offerings, giving it a leg up in its competition with The Wall Street Journal's WSJ Office Network.

Thomson Reuters itself is a relatively new entity, formed by the Canadian-based Thomson's acquisition of Netherlands-based Reuters in April 2008.