Consumer Reports Racking Up Subcriber Dollars

from the non-profit-doesn't-mean-zero-profits dept

CR reports that 300k+ subscribers now pay $2 - $3 /month for their content on-line. Though they have an odd model that allows someone to pay $3, download all 42 months of historical reports, then cancel, they have nonetheless persuaded "many" to pay the $19 to $24 annual subscription fee (the $19 fee represents the discounted fee that paper subscibers pays). They claim they had to charge for the site because they are so broke, being a non-profit. But some quick math tells us that this web site is a tasty little profit center for them -- they should take in $7 to $10M a year in revenue. Maybe their next "rant" against profiteering should include a review of pay-for-access web sites?