Audience Commodification: A Source of Innovation in Business Models

Information as the basic product of media is increasingly available for users, easily and mostly free (James, 2012). The volume of media products and services now offered by many media service providers has changed the base of economics in the media industry from being based on scarcity to being based on abundance (Darr & Jürgen, 2008; Masiello & Whitten, 2010). Owing to this change, audience attention becomes a scarce commodity and not an information and media product (Falkinger, 2008). This trend produces a challenge for media companies and enterprises to reach their target, and it requires them to search for new business models to deliver value and generate profit (Chesbrough, 2007; Johnson et al., 2008; Morris et al., 2005).