Wednesday, September 19, 2007

New York Times Online Going 'Free' Today

At midnight this morning the New York Times online edition is offering all new content and much of the newspapers archives free; paid for by advertising revenues.

A great day for the network television revenue model in the new world of the Internet.

From an article written by RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA and published September 18, 2007 in the New York Times Online:

In addition to opening the entire site to all readers, The Times will also make available its archives from 1987 to the present without charge, as well as those from 1851 to 1922, which are in the public domain. There will be charges for some material from the period 1923 to 1986, and some will be free.

The Times said the project had met expectations, drawing 227,000 paying subscribers — out of 787,000 over all — and generating about $10 million a year in revenue.

“But our projections for growth on that paid subscriber base were low, compared to the growth of online advertising,” said Vivian L. Schiller, senior vice president and general manager of the site, NYTimes.com.

A great day for the enlightenment.




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