New York Times to Charge Frequent Readers of Web Site - NYTimes.com - 0 views
www.nytimes.com/...21times.html
NYTimes Times Select Failure Newspaper economics media industry subscriber online news
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Starting in early 2011, visitors to NYTimes.com will get a certain number of articles free every month before being asked to pay a flat fee for unlimited access. Subscribers to the newspaper’s print edition will receive full access to the site without extra charge.
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But executives of The New York Times Company said they could not yet answer fundamental questions about the plan, like how much it would cost or what the limit would be on free reading. They stressed that the amount of free access could change with time, in response to economic conditions and reader demand.
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Still, publishers fear that income from digital subscriptions would not compensate for the resulting loss of audience and advertising revenue.
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from 2005 to 2007 the newspaper’s TimesSelect service charged for access to editorials and columns. TimesSelect attracted about 210,000 subscribers who paid $49.95 a year, but it was scrapped to take advantage of the boom in online advertising.
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“This is a bet, to a certain degree, on where we think the Web is going,” Mr. Sulzberger said. “This is not going to be something that is going to change the financial dynamics overnight.”
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Two specialized papers already charge readers: The Wall Street Journal, which makes certain articles accessible only to subscribers, and The Financial Times, which allows nonpaying readers to see up to 10 articles a month, a system close to what is planned by The Times.