The New York Times Cancels TimesSelect
It's been two years since the New York Times starting charging for "select" content on its site (hence the name), but the paper has admitted defeat and decided to open the content up for all, saying it could make more money from increased ad revenue than the subscription fees.
Times Select, the name of the service that charged access to opinion pieces and some news stories, was available to print subscribers for free. Times Select had 787,400 subscribers, including 471,200 print subscribers who received access to the service for free. Of the remaining subscribers, 89,200 readers received free access on college campuses and 227,000 paid either $7.95 per month or $49.95 for the service, depending on which subscription option they chose.
Times Select, the name of the service that charged access to opinion pieces and some news stories, was available to print subscribers for free. Times Select had 787,400 subscribers, including 471,200 print subscribers who received access to the service for free. Of the remaining subscribers, 89,200 readers received free access on college campuses and 227,000 paid either $7.95 per month or $49.95 for the service, depending on which subscription option they chose.
The New York Times report on the decision to end charges on the Web site, said the service generated about $10 million in annual revenue.
Strangely, I couldn't find the story on the NY Times site, despite searching for it!