On June 27, the company will start charging nonsubscribers who want to read more than three articles a day on The New York Times apps for mobile devices. Until now, readers using the apps were able to have access to 10 to 15 articles a day exclusively from its Top News section without paying for content.
After clicking through three articles, nonsubscribers will be able to browse section fronts and get article summaries. But they will have to become subscribers to view more than three articles. Subscribers are also able to read more than just the Top News section, with access to articles, blog posts, videos and slide shows from all sections of The Times.
Web subscriptions that include mobile apps range from $15 to $35 every four weeks.
To encourage more readers to pay for the app, the company said it is introducing a seven-day free trial.
Denise F. Warren, an executive vice president of the company, said that The Times had been planning for a long time to charge for content on its apps because readers had access to many more free articles there than they did on the Web site.
“We always knew there was an imbalance,” Ms. Warren said in an interview. “We wanted to restore that balance between the Web site and the apps.”
Since April 2011, when the company introduced a metered pay model on its Web site, The Times and The International Herald Tribune have attracted 676,000 paid digital subscribers. On the Web site, nonsubscribers can have access to 10 free articles a month.
Charging for content has become an important source of revenue for The Times. Last year was the first time that circulation revenue surpassed advertising revenue. Company officials have said the growth in circulation revenue was helped greatly by the demand for digital subscriptions and the rise in print prices. The increasing use of apps and tablets are part of that growth strategy.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: June 20, 2013
An earlier version of this article gave an incorrect price range for Web subscriptions to The New York Times. The range is $15 to $35 every four weeks, not $15 to $20.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/business/media/new-pay-model-for-times-apps.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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