Skip to main content

New York Times claims over 100,000 digital subscribers

The New York Times ignited some controversy with its plans to require paid subscriptions to access content via its Web site—first by taking the Grey Lady behind a paywall, second by announcing unexpectedly high subscription prices for online access…and then by deployed a paywall that was trivially easy to bypass. In reporting its financial results for its first quarter of 2011, however, the company sees a bright spot in its future with online subscriptions: it claims more than 1100,00 subscribers have come on board since March 28, the date the New York Time stated limiting the number of free articles visitors could read for free.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The newspaper noted that most subscribers have opted for an introductory program that offers four weeks of access for 99 for four weeks, rather than the full-priced $15 subscriptions that renew every four weeks. However, the company claims the number of subscribers who renew at the full price has been “strong.”

Recommended Videos

Overall, the New York Times continues to face the same bleak financial picture facing most print newspapers: as advertisers shift their spending away from newspaper and print media to other formats like online and mobile, newspapers have seen their revenues shrink dramatically. The New York Times says its net income fell 57.6 percent to $5.4 million, a decline of 57.6 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago. Overall revenue dropped 3.6 percent year-on-year to $566.5 million.

The results do not include any income from online subscriptions, since those launched after the end of the first quarter. The company also says it saw a 10.2 percent drop in revenue from online property About.com after Google re-jiggered its search ranking algorithms in an effort to weed out so-called “content farms.”

The New York Times permits individual readers free access to 20 articles per month, with some articles promoted by the paper explicitly excluded from that total. Full access costs $15 per month via Web and smartphone applications, although an iPad application costs $20 per month. An all-access plan runs $35 per month.

The New York Times indicated its overall Web traffic is down 15 percent since it instituted its paywall. The company indicated the drop was in line with its expectations.

Geoff Duncan
Former Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
Prime Day is over, but this powerful Dell laptop is still at its lowest price
The Dell Vostro 3530 laptop on a white background.

Prime Day is already over, but that doesn't mean that there are no more laptop deals for you to shop on Amazon. Here's one that caught our eye -- the Dell Vostro 3530 with 32GB of RAM for its lowest-ever price of $649, following a 28% discount on its original price of $899. This limited-time offer of $250 off may not last much longer though, so if you want to take advantage of this bargain, we highly recommend that you finalize your purchase for this device as soon as you can.

Buy Now

Read more
This Lenovo all-in-one computer is 30% off even though Prime Day has ended
The Lenovo V100 All-in-One Desktop Computer on a white background.

Even though Prime Day is already finished, there are still some excellent desktop computer deals on Amazon. If you don't have much space, or you just want to avoid clutter, you should take a look at the Lenovo V100 All-in-One PC. From its original price of $800, it's all the way down to just $560 following a 30% discount. The offer for this machine will only be available for a limited time though, so you need to act fast and proceed with the transaction immediately to secure the savings of $240.

Buy Now

Read more
The new Reachy Mini robot can let kids turn play into innovation
The Reachy Mini robot.

The Reachy Mini is an exciting new desktop robot aimed primarily at developers, educators, students, and enthusiasts, or basically anyone interested in creative coding.

There are actually two of them -- Reachy Mini Lite ($299) and Reachy Mini Wireless ($449) -- and both were developed by the prominent AI platform Hugging Face following its recent acquisition of Pollen Robotics. 

Read more