NYT mulling to charge users to access its website
11 Jul 2009
Cash-strapped The New York Times (NYT) is mulling charging a $5 monthly fee with a 50-per cent discount to subscribers of the print edition for online access to its website, nytimes.com.
With revenues from print advertising plunging along with diminishing readers in the US, who have turned to the internet to access news for free, publishers in the US are being forced to explore innovative options to raise their revenues. The New York Times is attempting to find a different revenue generating business model.
The paper sent an e-mailed survey to print subscribers this week, asking their opinion on the proposed pricing plan along with a series of wide ranging questions about online pricing.
A part of the survey e-mailed to its print subscribers on Thursday goes to say, "The New York Times website, nytimes.com, is considering charging a monthly fee of $5.00 to access its content, including all its articles, blogs and multimedia. All of this content is currently available for free.''
"When answering the following questions, please think about whether you would be willing to pay for continued unlimited access to nytimes.com.''
"How likely would you be to pay a $2.50 monthly fee -- which would be a 50-per cent discount for home delivery subscribers -- for continued, unlimited access to nytimes.com?"
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