NYTimes paywall comes with limited free access

by Steven Mostyn - Mar 28 2011, 13:33

If you enjoy reading online news and general interest articles published by The New York Times, your enjoyment is about to be abruptly curtailed—unless you’re willing to splash a little cash.

More pointedly, in an attempt to preserve profit margins while preventing the free online viewing of its wide-ranging content, The New York Times has this week erected a paywall around its Internet division.

“I believe strongly that the quality of our journalism is at such a level that people should be willing to pay to read it,” commented NYT managing editor Jill Abramson in a CNN report.   

However, unlike similar online defences constructed by the likes of The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times, the NYTimes.com paywall comes complete with the temptation of a viewing window designed to lure readers into paying for the full service.

Said window enables online visitors to read up to 20 full NYT stories per month, after which usage is restricted to basic perusal and full access can only be regained by committing to a modest set fee.

In terms of pricing, avid readers unwilling to part with NYT coverage of news and current events will need to spend $15 USD per month for unlimited online and smartphone-based access.

A slightly more expensive $20 USD fee grants users unlimited online access and provides them with the NYT software application for Apple’s iPad tablet computer.

It’s worth noting that those who subscribe to the conventional print edition of The New York Times receive access to all of the above without incurring any extra costs.

Although the concept of paying for content that has been freely available for such a long period of time is likely to rile a solid portion of the paper’s online readership, a quick look at plunging circulation figures reveals why the publication is keen to protect its position.

For example, around 877,000 people currently purchase the weekday print edition of The New York Times, while NYTimes.com pulls in a staggering 48.5 million unique visitors each month—with the site only profiting from online ad revenue.

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