this is related only in terms of previously free websites becoming pay, but yesterday I was looking for commitments from college football recruits, and
http://www.fansonly.com who I've always used for this information has started requiring "premium" subscriptions to do what they've always offered for free. I looked around, and any comprehensive website I found that had searchable databases for this subject required a subscription. Basically I think they are seeing they can't turn a profit on banners alone, and they're testing whether or not they can get enough subscriptions to turn a profit.
Needless to say, I did not subscribe to any of these sites. It's not worth $10/month to find out who's committed to play football at what college. I can find out after national signing day.
I had a insider account at espn.com awhile back, but that wasn't worth the money either. *shrugs* usually anything that's subscription based, you can find the info free if you look long enough. Except exclusive pr0n pix, but even then, there's plenty of free substitutes.
