News Limited will attempt to shore up print sales by bundling its papers in with online subscriptions at a discount. The firm has confirmed paywalls will go up in May for The Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun and in June for AdelaideNow and The Courier-Mail.
Under the news+ banner the firm will attempt to tempt customers into subscriptions by charging $1 for the first month, then $4 per week for full access. That is roughly equivalent to papers such as The New York Times, which charges around $15 for full access on fixed and mobile (but no access to apps).
But it will charge $10 for first 28 days and then $9.00 per week for full access and print papers delivered seven days per week.
Readers of the Herald Sun and The Daily Telegraph will still be able to access some content under a metered model (five articles on both) and more if they register (15 on The Tele but, interestingly, only 10 on The Sun), as News will then be able to capture more details for advertising purposes. This will become increasingly important as consumer data rules tighten in March 2014.
CEO Kim Williams said as more people sign in to view News+ content, “we can deliver advertisers more relevant and targeted editorial environments for their campaigns.”
Models will vary slightly across Australia, in accordance with each local market. Some premium sports content will only be accessible by subscribers, said News.
Williams confirmed the four pillars of the News+ masthead would be news, lifestyle, business and sport.
As well as having to pay for content, the other new element is the integration of Fox Sports content across the News+ network. The sites have also been redesigned.
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