New York Times to start charging for web access

Mar 17, 2011, 18:29 GMT

New York - The New York Times will start charging users this month for internet access to its newspapers, the media outfit said Thursday.

The long-expected move by the most read newspaper web site in the world comes as newspapers large and small struggle to make enough money on the internet to compensate for the drastic decline in readership and advertising on their print editions.

The New York Times plan will allow users to view 20 articles for free each month, and also allow free access to the home page and top news sections, and to many articles reached through search engines or links from other sites.

Monthly subscriptions will range from 15 dollars for the New York Times website and smartphone app, to 35 dollars for access to the website, smartphone app and iPad app. Customers who subscribe for home delivery of the paper will receive free unlimited access to digital content.

'Today marks a significant transition for the Times, an important day in our 159-year history of evolution and reinvention,' said Arthur Sulzberger, chairman of The New York Times Company.

'Our decision to begin charging for digital access will result in another source of revenue, strengthening our ability to continue to invest in the journalism and digital innovation on which our readers have come to depend.'

Currently the Wall Street Journal is the largest paid newspaper site on the web, though its subscriber base is thought to rely mostly on business people willing to pay for the proprietary information the paper publishes.

The new York Times tried a paid model for its top columnists six years ago but dropped the idea in order to build traffic to its site.

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