The Bill Has Arrived
Yesterday, The New York Times officially unveiled it's digital subscription plans. We all knew this day was coming in one form or another. But I do tend to wonder if this plan will work out for the better. Seems like there are two big themes to consider: Financial survival, and media influence.
Even if NYTimes finds financial gain with this move (which is still very much in question), I wonder how their influence will change. It seems fairly straight forward to me that the more eyeballs hitting your content, the more influence you have. And generally speaking, pay wall reduce eye balls. Clearly, the move to allow free access from links into NYTimes.com is a move to help alleviate this issue. They are assuming that this combined with 20 free reads per month, will keep the majority of readers seeing their content. Which leads us to the other side; the group that should start paying for content, helping the global paper to survive.
The payment plan is confusing. One fee for unlimited NYTimes.com. An additional if you also want tablet app access. And yet another additional if you also want smartphone app access. There are at least two problems with this plan:
One, it's confusing. Why shouldn't I be able to pay one simple additional fee for any app access outside of the website? This plan could quickly spiral into a system that has too many variations and shades of grey, that will turn off customers.
Two, the top tier is far to expensive. It's approximately $150 more per year than getting paper home delivery—which includes all the digital options. This is likely a deliberate move to keep the paper business as a very attractive option. But many of us really don't want a pile of newsprint on our door everyday, and don't see the point to paying more money for this 'luxury.'
Whether or not this new pay wall system works out for the better will be a show to watch. I believe we should and will pay for good content. But I'm not sure this proposal as is will be the plan that works.
Also Read: NYTimes "Fair" Prices
