Tuesday, March 8, 2011

NYTimes to try again.

After a series of disastrous attempts to milk NY Times content online, the New York Times announced plans to once again try to charge online readers for access to certain types of content.  This time, it proposes to use a metered model that will let users access a limited number of articles for free before being charged.  They estimate the cost for heavy users as around $20 a month, less than their Kindle Subscription rate.
What's the prospect for success?  Well, in January, Bloomberg reported that after spending $40-$50 million on the system, they had fixed some 500 known glitches, "with 200 to go."  And, at $20/month, they'll need 2.5 million heavy users/months just to recoup initial investment.  The Times' past history with pay models suggests its unlikely to reach those levels.  So I'm not surprised that they also announced they'll start charging for its iPad and iPhone apps.

Source: "NYT: All the News That's Fit to Mint," Media Daily News

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