Free Site Access Another Sign of the Times

The New York Times has abandoned its premium content service, Times Select. As of today, visitors to nytimes.com have access to all content on the site. The Times Select service gave subscribers access to works from Times columnists and the newspaper’s archives. Some industry observers believe the move is in response to the possibility that the new owner of The Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., plans to open access to wsj.com in the near future.

The decision to open access to NY Times content reflects two things. First, a cornerstone of the internet’s popularity is access to information. Any distributor of information that attempts to restrict access through selling subscriptions risks driving people to other web sites where they can access info at no charge. Second, increased traffic that will come from open access to content makes sites like nytimes.com more attractive to advertisers. The result will be enhanced advertising revenues that ultimately could more than offset subscription revenues that are being given up. Link

Author: Don Roy

Don Roy is a marketing educator, blogger, and author. His thirty-year career began with roles in retail management, B2B sales, and franchise management. For the past 27 years, Don has shared his passion for marketing as a marketing professor. Don's teaching and research interests include brands, sports marketing, and social media marketing. Don has authored over 20 articles in scholarly journals, co-authored two textbooks, and self-published three books on personal branding. Don is an avid hockey fan and enjoys running. He and his wife, Sara, have three sons. View all posts by Don Roy