The New York Times' new online pay model could be a long term "game changer", analysts said, as the newspaper prepared to charge users to access its digital content.
The paper yesterday announced it will start charging for full access to its articles on phones, tablet computers and the internet.
Readers who do not subscribe to New York Times Co's namesake newspaper will be able to read 20 articles per month on the website for free, but will have to pay to read more. Subscribers to the print edition will have full, free access to the website, NYTimes.com.
The newspaper launched the pay model in Canada yesterday and plans to roll it out in the United States and globally on March 28th.
The pay model is a big test for large-circulation general interest newspapers, which have struggled to retain readers and advertisers as more and more people get their news from the Internet.
The scheme is being closely monitored by other news organisations weighing similar plans.
This is the second attempt by the New York Times, one of the world's most prestigious newspapers, to charge for digital news in hopes of diversifying its revenue stream.
It will charge $15 per month, or 4 weeks, for unlimited access to NYTimes.com and a smartphone application; $20 per month for online access and an Apple Inc iPad app; and $35 per month for online, smartphone and an iPad app.
The newspaper said it would begin using Apple's new subscription service in its app store by June 30th.
Readers who come to articles from other sources such as blogs and social media sites including Facebook will be able to access content even if they hit the limit. However, the newspaper is limiting the amount of free articles on Google to five a day.
"Today marks a significant transition for the Times, an important day in our 159-year history of evolution and reinvention," New York Times chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr said in a statement.
The newspaper attempted to make readers pay in 2005, charging non-print subscribers for online access to columnists such as Frank Rich and Maureen Dowd, but dropped the plan in two years.
The Times' strategy is similar to that of the Financial Times, which has had some success charging high-end business readers for online access.
The Wall Street Journal is also on the forefront of charging for online news, even as it has broadened out to become more of a general newspaper under News Corp's Rupert Murdoch. The WSJ is now the largest US newspaper.
The Times' new pay model allows casual readers to access the New York Times, unlike some other pay strategies such as News Corp's experiment with the Times of London. The British paper bars anyone who does not pay from reading its website, which has resulted in a 90 per cent plunge in visitors.
About 31.4 million individuals visited NYTimes.com in February, according to online research measurement firm comScore.
"We need to make sure that part of our business continues to grow," said Martin Nisenholtz, senior vice president of digital operations at the company. "The way we think we can do that is taking this metered approach charging the folks who are drinking deeply".
It remains to be seen whether people will pay for digital news. Of the three dozen newspapers that have moved to some sort of online pay model, only 1 per cent of readers have opted to pay, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Reuters
