WSJ Preps Ad-Supported Mobile Service

Aiming to create more ad inventory, Dow Jones intends to introduce several new initiatives later this year, including an ad-supported mobile platform for The Wall Street Journal.

Currently, the paper offers a mobile subscription service, but growing marketer demand has spurred the paper to start exploring ad-supported models, said Brian Quinn, vice president of sales and marketing for Dow Jones Online. "The ad demand is becoming more real," he said.

The Wall Street Journal is also prepping a customizable product, MyWSJ, which is currently in beta testing. According to Quinn, MyWSJ will allow users to "move content around, choose what's important to them and modularize it. They'll be able to organize the content and see it how they want."

In addition, Quinn said, the company intends to beef up its podcasting services. Both The Wall Street Journal and MarketWatch already have regular podcast features, but Quinn said the company plans to establish many more in the near future, noting that advertiser interest in podcasting has been growing steadily.

Dow Jones this week reported that its online ad revenue for August was up 20 percent on a year-over-year basis, but print ads didn't fare as well. Ad revenue at The Wall Street Journal increased 6.9 percent last month, while ad revenue dropped 0.5 percent at Barron's.

The company also lowered its third-quarter guidance, with CEO Rich Zannino saying that September was "running below our expectations and prior year." The announcement spooked analysts and triggered a small slide in the company's stock.

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