NYTimes: Pay for online news
2010-01-20 22:15
Washington - The New York Times announced on Wednesday that it plans to begin charging online readers of the newspaper at the beginning of 2011.
"The new approach, referred to as the metered model, will offer users free access to a set number of articles per month and then charge users once they exceed that number," the New York Times Co said in a statement.
"This will enable NYTimes.com to create a second revenue stream and preserve its robust advertising business," the Times Co said, adding that it will introduce the paid model for the Times website "at the beginning of 2011".
Like other US newspapers, the New York Times has been grappling with declining print advertising revenue, falling circulation and the migration of readers to free news online.
Times Co chair Arthur Sulzberger said the "new business model is designed to provide additional support for The New York Times' extraordinary, professional journalism.
"Our audiences are very loyal and we believe that our readers will pay for our award-winning digital content and services," he said.
The Times Co said print subscribers to the newspaper will continue to have free online access to NYTimes.com once the metered model is in place.
The New York Times put in place a paid model several years ago, putting columnists and other content behind a pay wall, but quickly abandoned the experiment.
The News Corp-owned Wall Street Journal and Newsday are currently the only major US newspapers charging readers for full online access.