Sponsor's fault this change came? Not likely, this is a very cyclical industry, the webmasters are just as at fault. If the demand for higher and higher payouts hadn't been pressed we'd be charging $14.95 a month and paying the webmasters $8.00 like the good ole days.
How is it going to affect the biz, well the main problem is that while the webmasters and programs can change payouts and per month prices you still don't get rid of the immediate cancellers, the surfers who never access the site, buy the membership and cancel immediately before even seeing what's inside. As far as programs being forced to a max of $29.95 on monthly signups, if this happens you can bet that payouts will be reduced across the board, $10 less in the program's pocket = probably around $10 less in the webmaster's pocket. Couple that with the removal of MULTIPLE free cross-sales, a problem brought on by one processor alone and you're going to see a rapid decline in payouts. They should land in the $25-30 range where they should have been all along. My guess is the programs continuing to pay $35-$45 will do it by a. shaving, b. agressive consoles, or c. continuing to bang the surfers card. The money has to be made up somewhere, consider that when you see programs paying out more than their monthly access fees are. One popular sponsor pays $35 currently and they charge $25 a month, caveat, surfer has to remain a member for 4 hours. Just remember folks, higher payout does not always mean more money in your pocket.
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