News Corp. to Charge Online Access – Analyst Blog

News Corporation (NWSA), the media conglomerate, has taken a leap towards an online subscription-based model for general news content.

 

Business newspapers such as Financial Times and Wall Street Journal (owned by News Corporation) have long been following an online pay model. But charging readers for online access of general news content is a “first” for any news publication.

 

News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation, will soon begin charging readers for online content of The Times of London and the Sunday Times of London effective June 2010, at a cost of £1.00 (approximately $1.49) per day. The news websites will be launched in May. However, the company hinted that the access will be free only for the subscribers of the print versions.

 

Rupert Murdoch, the Chief Executive Officer of News Corporation, has long been pushing for an online subscription-based model for all general news websites. But newspaper companies have been reluctant to toe the line for fear of losing readership and, in turn, advertisers.

 

However, to curb shrinking advertising revenue and diminishing market shares battered by the recent economic downturn, publishing companies are now considering charging readers for online editions. This comes in the wake of a longer-term secular decline as more readers choose to read news free online, thereby making the print-advertising model irrelevant.

 

Another media giant, the New York Times Company (NYT), plans to introduce a paid model for NYTimes.com in 2011. The company will adopt Financial Times‘ metered system, where after browsing a certain number of free articles, readers will be asked to subscribe.

 

Wall Street Journal has been charging readers for online access using a walled-garden system, where some articles are gratis but others are only available for a fee.