We’re getting close to a real test on whether newspapers can charge for online content to offset the revenue they are losing on their print editions.
The New York Times, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal, is planning on charging for online content starting next month.
The idea is that you will be able to read into the site to some level and then, you will be asked to pay to go deeper. It sounds like from the article, an online only subscription to the New York Times will be about $10.00 a month. The Kindle edition is already $20.00 per month.
The last time they tried to put certain columnists behind a pay wall it failed, as readers wouldn’t pay extra to read their columns.
This is an important for marketers to watch because if newspapers fail to make money online, they may fail all together, and that will affect local advertising. So, let’s watch and see what happens. Will you pay to read a newspaper online?