Fitch Ratings tries Freemium
Jinfo Blog

14th July 2009

By Nancy Davis Kho

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On July 13 Fitch Ratings and Fitch Solutions (www.fitchratings.com) announced the release of a new, integrated single platform website. The company, a global ratings agency providing the world’s credit markets with independent and prospective credit opinions, research, and data, now has a single portal through which both registered users of Fitch's free-to-view content and its subscribers to premium content will access Fitch data. 'Freemium' is all the rage these days, as reported by Penny Crossland in a recent LiveWire post (http://digbig.com/5babhy) and it's getting a boost from the new book Free by Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail. (Walking the walk, incidentally, Anderson's book is available for free download for a limited time at http://www.scribd.com.) The idea is that users are drawn in by free content and then tempted by premium content to upgrade to a paid account, and Fitch is following that model, according to their press release. 'In addition to accessing free content, registered users also now have the ability to browse premium subscription content.' Users of the free service now have a more advanced search engine, featuring CUSIP and ISIN search functionality, and new content filters; that should make them stick around and browse. The hope is, of course, that browsing will lead to buying. In light of stricter lending rules, demand for credit information is quite healthy these days, and Fitch is smart to make access to its products more streamlined and compelling to take advantage of the boost. We'll see how many other information vendors roll out their freemium solutions in the months to come, as they learn from early adopters like Fitch, Emerald Group, and Alacra.

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