New York Times considers paid-for model

The New York Times is set to charge users a monthly fee to access its website, although it has reportedly ruled out micro-payments.

The title launched a survey asking its print subscribers for their opinions on the proposed $5 (£3) a month payment for its online content, which will include articles, blogs and multimedia.

It asked: “How likely would you be to pay a $2.50 monthly fee — which would be a 50% discount for home delivery subscribers — for continued, unlimited access to nytimes.com?”

Catherine Mathis, a New York Times spokesperson, said: “The purpose of the survey is really to reach out to our home-delivery subscribers and understand how they would react to a pay model for the website.

“We are evaluating a variety of scenarios where access to our content, in varying amounts, would require a fee.”

The New York Times previously charged a fee for its premium content, such as opinion articles and blogs, through an initiative called TimesSelect.

However, the service, which was launched in 2005, stopped running two years ago.

Scott Heekin-Canedy, president and general manager of The New York Times Media Group, said the paper is now considering two payment options, a “metered” model and a “membership” model, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The metered model would allow users to access a certain number of articles before being charged, while the membership model would involve users paying a set monthly fee, but would give them access to premium content and subscriber-only services.

Heekin-Canedy also confirmed that the paper was not interested in micro payments, saying they would not work for the title’s website.

“Our general view is that micropayments are too cumbersome,” he told the Telegraph. “It is just like getting in a taxi and the meter is running for every word or page you consumer.”

The New York Times is expected to implement a payment model later this year, making it the first major non-financial newspaper to charge for online content.