Not for free

20 January 2010 By Agnes Crane

The newspaper publisher will take another shot at making a buck off its online edition starting next year by introducing a paid meter model. While no overnight revenue game changer, the move sets a welcome precedent for ascribing value to premium content.

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The New York Times said on Jan. 20 that it will implement a "metered" payment model for its online edition, charging habitual readers who access more than a set number of free articles per month. The new model will be implemented beginning in 2011.

Times print subscribers will continue to have free access to NYTimes.com.

The Times did not disclose the number of articles readers could access before they would be charged for content. The newspaper said it would provide more details about the scheme in "coming months." Financial newspapers The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times already charge for access to their websites.

The Journal, which boasts a larger newspaper circulation than the New York Times, has been charging for its online content since 1996. Though that paper has been expanding into general news since its acquisition by News Corp , its online strategy benefited from a tradition of paying for financial content.

The Times briefly charged readers in 2005 for access to their most popular columnists.

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