The New York Times has announced plans to start charging for access to online news from the beginning of 2011.
A new “metered” model of payment will offer users of NYTimes.com free access to a set number of articles per month and then charge users once they exceed that number.
However, New York Times home delivery print subscribers will not have to pay to access NYTimes.com content when the new payment model comes online.
A second revenue stream
The company explained its decision saying it would allow it to “create a second revenue stream and preserve its robust advertising business”.
“It will also provide the necessary flexibility to keep an appropriate ratio between free and paid content and stay connected to a search-driven web,” the New York Times Company said.
The company said it would be building a new online infrastructure throughout 2010 that would aim to allow users “a frictionless experience across multiple platforms”.
Readers will pay
“Our new business model is designed to provide additional support for the New York Times‘ extraordinary, professional journalism,” said Arthur Sulzberger Jr, chairman of the New York Times Company and publisher of the New York Times.
“Our audiences are very loyal and we believe that our readers will pay for our award-winning digital content and services,” he added.
“This process of rethinking our business model has also been driven by our desire to achieve additional revenue diversity that will make us less susceptible to the inevitable economic cycles,” said Janet L Robinson, president and CEO, the New York Times Company.
“We were also guided by the fact that our news and information are being featured in an increasingly broad range of end-user devices and services, and our pricing plans and policies must reflect this vision.”
Article courtesy of businessandleadership.com
