Star Tribune to Charge for Vikings Coverage

By Zach Jevne

The Star Tribune, of Minneapolis-St.Paul, will begin charging to view some of its content online in a few weeks, including "Vikings Access", one of the site's biggest draws. This will be the first time since 2002 the newspaper has walled off content and charged for it.

Terry Sauer, the assistant managing editor for digital, says that they will begin charging "in a few weeks" and that the monthly fee will be about "the cost of a cup of coffee."

Back in 2002 the site offered a "Purple Plus" package, which allowed readers to get stories, commentary, and live chats, for $30 a year. It was unsuccessful, by financial standards, as they only got 1,000 subscribers.

Part of the blame for lack of interest in 2002 was a brutal 6-10 season, which started out 3-10, according to then-editor Ben Welter.

So will fans be more likely to pay for premium coverage in 2009? Sauer hopes so.

"We know die-hard Vikings fans can't get enough information, but I think casual fans will find it a pretty good deal, too. We feel better situated with a superior Vikings product to give our readers a good reason to sign up."

The problem that they may face will be the free alternative sites where fans can get football information. Their hope is that the "die-hard fan" will prefer their local coverage of the team compared to other sites. But even that might not be enough for people to pay extra to view "Vikings Access".

Welter says, "There are too many other free alternatives to almost all the content we produce - even when we enhance it with exclusive material."

It may also help that many consider, especially in Minnesota, that the Vikings are potentially a very good team, with high hopes for the playoffs. They have the league's top running back and the signing of Brett Favre last month only made fans more excited. I can't help but wonder if Brett Favre and the team's potential were the deciding factors in the decision to charge for "exclusive" coverage.

I have to think that the Star Tribune is hoping for a huge season from the Vikings this year, even more so than in the past. If they have a winning team, fans will be much more interested in getting all the information and coverage that "Vikings Access" has to offer. They may even be willing to pay for it.