Sitting alongside Paul Hayes, News International managing director commercial, and Vanessa Clifford, Mindshare head of press, Freeman made his claims while discussing the commercial future of media.
Freeman said: "Publishers can succeed with a paid-for strategy, and anyone who understands their consumers and invests heavily in content and technology will win.
"It is a crowded market, but in five years' time, this will change and the number of players will decrease."
Asked whether it was better to have a paid-for content strategy, or to offer free and unlimited access, the panel revealed that it was best to have a mixed model in tune with a quality audience that allowed advertising to be based around it.
Hayes said: "We have a mixed model strategy, but we are expecting to make more revenue on a much smaller content news base."
Interestingly, a live poll among the 200 delegates at the conference revealed that 70% of the audience believed a mix of paid-for and free content strategies was the future for media.
Media360 is happening today (9 June) and tomorrow (10 June) at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester.
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