TORONTO, March 17 (UPI) -- New York Times readers in Canada will be the first to be subjected to a monthly fee for frequent visits to the Times' Web site, the newspaper said Thursday.
The company said payment would start immediately in Canada to determine whether any software problems exist. The plan would then be introduced in the United States and other countries.
The Toronto Globe and Mail said the Times is evidently using the Canadian market as a testing ground for the paid subscription service, noting that the Times release indicated digital subscription in Canadian was "beginning today in order to fine-tune the customer experience prior to the global launch."
Under the proposal, Web visitors would be able to read up to 20 articles a month for free. Those wanting more frequent access would have a choice between paying $15 every four weeks for online access, $20 for access through the Web and an iPhone app and $35 for access via iPads, the Web and iPhone.
Subscribers to the print edition of the Times would have total access.
"This move is an investment in our future," Arthur Sulzberger Jr. told employees in his annual State of the Times message. "It will allow us to develop new sources of revenue to support the continuation of our journalistic mission and digital innovation, while maintaining our large and growing audience to support our robust advertising business. And this system is our latest, and best, demonstration of where we believe the future of valued content -- be it news, music, games or more -- is going."
The Times is the largest news organization to create a paywall after having allowed free access to its content.
