WCPO in Cincinnati says that starting in January, their website is going behind a paywall.

E.W. Scripps called the paywall “the first-ever premium subscription service for a TV station’s digital content.”

Let's hope that the station offers up content that the other stations in town don't, or this experiment will fail miserably.

The station claims to have added a number of staffers to the website.

“We’ve built a best-in-class digital news experience that delivers on local depth, perspective and analysis while continuing to dominate the marketplace on the investigative reporting, breaking news and weather coverage the audience depends on us for,” Adam Symson, chief digital officer for E.W. Scripps, said ina statement. “Our first major step came when we grew our team and introduced new digital reporters. Next, we unveiled our redesigned website and news apps for the smartphone and tablet.”

Starting today, WCPO.com users will notice a “9” icon next to premium story headlines on the website and in its news apps, the station said. In January, the company will roll out a new subscription plan for its original content.

You know other stations will be watching this very closely to see if the Cincy station can pull it off.

Stay tuned....

H/T NetNewsCheck