New York Times To Begin Charging in 2011
Eric Calouro | Jan 20, 2010 | Comments 0
This past weekend, we ran a story noting the possibility that the New York Times would begin charging for access. We noted the move could come as early as the Spring time, but it appears as if we were not correct on that point.
That’s because the New York Times Company has officially announced today their ambitions to begin charging users for access to their content at the beginning of 2011. While still keeping intact the site’s advertising business, the subscription model would allow for another stream of revenue for the company.
“Our audiences are very loyal and we believe that our readers will pay for our award-winning digital content and services,” said Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., who is the chairman of The New York Times Company and publisher of The New York Times.
They believe — but they don’t know. If one takes a gander at forum posts or post comments regarding this story, the lot of individuals will boldly state they will not be paying for access. As I’ve mentioned before, there are millions of places to get news online — and there will always be a free source. The fact that the New York Times believe there readers will start paying for something that’s been free online right along is frankly naive.
“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 CEO and president of the NYT Janet L. Robinson.
“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,” she continued.
We currently do not have any information on pricing, but that information is expected to be announced sometime in the coming months.
Will you be subscribing to the New York Times when it becomes subscription-only?
Filed Under: U.S.
