NYTimes.com to introduce metered paywall in 2011

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on January 20, 2010 at 5:44 PM

The New York Times will launch a metered paid model on its Web site at the beginning of next year, the newspaper announced today. Under the plan, users to access more than a set number of articles per month will be asked to pay a flat fee for additional access. Print subscribers will be given full access, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"This process of rethinking our business model has also been driven by our desire to achieve additional revenue diversity that will make us less susceptible to the inevitable economic cycles," Janet L. Robinson, president and CEO, The New York Times Company, said in a press release. "We were also guided by the fact that our news and information are being featured in an increasingly broad range of end-user devices and services, and our pricing plans and policies must reflect this vision."

A metered approach means Times content will still be visible online, and thus be able to continue selling a large audience to advertisers, The Times' David Carr wrote today.

Research conduced by the Times Co. led executives to believe core readers are willing to pay. Meanwhile, the newspaper will be able to monetize casual readers with ads.

Instituting a metered model means the Web site will have less reach, but it will "remain an engine of news and commerce,"Carr wrote. "It is not the job of The New York Times or any other mainstream media company to give away its content until it can no longer afford to do so."

The new business model is aimed to better support journalism, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., chairman of The New York Times Company and publisher of The New York Times said in a press release. "Our audiences are very loyal and we believe that our readers will pay for our award-winning digital content and services."

In 2008, company saw revenues of $2.9 billion. This includes revenues from The Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other dailies and more than 50 Web sites, including About.com.