Murdoch free wsj.com plan raises risks for Pearson

By Gavin Haycock

LONDON (Reuters) - News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch has said he might make the Wall Street Journal's Web site free, a shift that could compel Pearson to do the same with the online version of its Financial Times.

Numis Securities analyst Lorna Tilbian said any move by Murdoch to make wsj.com free has to put pressure on Pearson, while Dresdner Kleinwort's Usman Ghazi estimates a potential hit of up to six percent on earnings per share.

"You can resist if you don't want growth," Tilbian said.

Wsj.com is one of the Web's most successful subscription businesses with a $99 (49 pounds) annual charge and making it free would be aimed at lifting online ads from an anticipated jump in readers.

"It would be an expensive thing to do in the short term. In the long term, it may be a great thing to do," Murdoch said this week as he sketched his plan for the future of Dow Jones DJ.N.

Earlier this week, newspaper reports said the New York Times was mulling whether to stop charging Web users for access to its columnists and editorials.

Pearson's Texas-born CEO Marjorie Scardino has said the FT and Wall Street Journal differ in their strategies.

To a point, say analysts.