Two Rupert Murdoch-owned newspapers are to charge for online content from June.UK papers The Times and The Sunday Times currently share the Times Online website.Times Online will be split into two separate sites, which will launch during May, and will ini
Two Rupert Murdoch-owned newspapers are to charge for online content from June.
UK papers The Times and The Sunday Times currently share the Times Online website.
Times Online will be split into two separate sites, which will launch during May, and will initially be free - or at least free for those who register.
After the free trial period ends, in June, visitors to either site will have to pay £1 for a day's access and £2 for a week's subscription.
WSJ's latest numbers
The Wall Street Journal has the highest-profile paywall website in Murdoch's News Corp empire.
Dow Jones director of communications Ashley Huston told NBR that "We have more than one million subscribers for WSJ.com".
Ms Huston said the company does not release mobile figures, but other media have said there are around 300,000 paying extra to access the WSJ BlackBerry and iPhone apps.
The Journal charges $US1.99 a week for an online subscription, and a further $US1.00 a week to access content via its iPhone and BlackBerry apps (or $US1.99 if a mobile user lacks a print or online subscription; if you have both a print and a website subscription, the mobile content is free).
The Journal's iPad plans
A pending Apple iPad edition will cost $US17.99 a month. Like print, website and mobile apps, its charges will be advertised weekly, but billed monthly.
Ms Huston said the $US17.99 was "a standalone price". An Amazon Kindle edition costs $US14.99 a month.
A Journal report said six advertisers had booked four-month, $US400,000 packages for its iPad edition, including FedEx, Coca Cola.
Last week, Apple upped its sales figures for the iPad, which launches April 3 in the US (a New Zealand date has yet to be set, though insiders are saying August, with limited supply).
It now expects to sell more than 1.12 million units by the end of June, up from its previous estimate of 650,000.
Around 3 million Amazon Kindle e-readers are in the market so far. The tablet now has an international version, which is available in a slew of countries, including Australia, Fiji and Zimbabwe, but not New Zealand.
A trial in the provinces
Most see the Journal as one of the more obvious punts for paid content, with its expense-account wielding business audience.
General interest newspapers are generally seen as a far riskier bet for paid access.
However, Murdoch has already been experimenting in this area. The obscure Standard-Times of New Bedford, Massachusetts (circulation: 30,000) has been charging for online content since January this year. Readers can access 10 articles a month, then have to pay $US4.60 a week to to see more - curiously, a higher rate than The Wall Street Journal.
News Corp has yet to reveal the success, or not, of the Standard-Times move.
The Murdoch-controlled company has had no direct presence in New Zealand since the 45% News Corp-owned INL sold its newspapers, including the DominionPost, to Fairfax in 2003.
The New York Times pending
The New York Times recently confirmed it would charge for online content from early 2011.The troubled paper is expected to use a similar model to the UK's Financial Times, with registered readers able to access a limited number of free articles before hitting a paywall.
NBR publisher Barry Colman recently announced that NBR 24/7 now has 8000 subscribers to its paid online content.
