New York Times drafts tiered pricing model
Price details of The New York Times planned online paywall have leaked out but they’re raising more questions than answers.
A charge of $20 is expected to be levied for access to both the iPad app and the website, more than double the cost of the web only package according to the Wall Street Journal - begging the question why anyone would bother when they can visit nytimes.com simply by using the iPad’s built in web browser.
Whilst the iPad app may well boast expanded content and sexier presentation, news buffs are still likely to balk at such a gaping price differential; leading some commentators to speculate why it would be worth bothering with the app at all.
The NYT is also anxious to avoid the mistakes of its London based counterpart, which saw traffic figures drop off a cliff following introduction of its own paywall.
This could see a first click free model introduced where first time users directed to the site by a friend, tweet or blog can read a couple of articles before the paywall slams shut.