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  • February 2012 (Revised January 2013)
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The New York Times Paywall

By: Vineet Kumar, Bharat Anand, Sunil Gupta and Felix Oberholzer-Gee
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:19
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Abstract

On March 28, 2011, The New York Times website became a restricted site where most of the content was protected behind a "paywall." Users who exceeded the limit of 20 free articles per month were required to pay for either a digital or print subscription. The newspaper industry had been suffering from revenue declines over the past decade, and the transition to digital media was difficult to navigate. Revenues from online advertising were not sufficient to replace the loss of print revenue, and many publishers had explored charging readers for content, with mixed success, where specialized sources like The Wall Street Journal were successfully using the model, but several other general news sites had failed. Newspapers and content creators in general were very interested in understanding whether transitioning to the paywall at the most popular news website would succeed, and whether it could become a blueprint for future success as a sustainable business model. There were several difficult issues to examine in determining the digital strategy for The Times. Would consumers remain as engaged with a site protected by a paywall? Would advertisers react positively to such a move that walled off readers? Would readers value both the print and digital versions of the content, or would it become necessary to create new content? The Times had several choices in designing the paywall, including determining the digital content, pricing, as well as how to interface with readers of secondary news websites like blogs that posted links to news articles. Should they design a "leaky" paywall where determined users could easily slip through, or a "bulletproof" paywall like the Financial Times had done, where users had to pay before they could access any content? What choices would provide the foundation for a successful business model?

Keywords

Newspapers; Strategy; Journalism and News Industry; Publishing Industry

Citation

Kumar, Vineet, Bharat Anand, Sunil Gupta, and Felix Oberholzer-Gee. "The New York Times Paywall." Harvard Business School Case 512-077, February 2012. (Revised January 2013.)
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About The Authors

Bharat N. Anand

Strategy
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Sunil Gupta

Marketing
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Felix Oberholzer-Gee

Strategy
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Related Work

    • June 2012 (Revised November 2012)
    • Faculty Research

    The New York Times Paywall (TN)

    By: Vineet Kumar and Sunil Gupta
    • February 2012 (Revised January 2013)
    • Faculty Research

    The New York Times Paywall

    By: Vineet Kumar, Bharat Anand, Sunil Gupta and Felix Oberholzer-Gee
    • February 2014
    • Faculty Research

    The New York Times Paywall (Powerpoint Supplement)

    By: Vineet Kumar
    • June 2020
    • Faculty Research

    The New York Times Paywall Update (B)

    By: D. L. Spar and Sunil Gupta
    • June 2020
    • Faculty Research

    The New York Times Paywall Update (C)

    By: Sunil Gupta and D. L. Spar
Related Work
  • The New York Times Paywall (TN) By: Vineet Kumar and Sunil Gupta
  • The New York Times Paywall By: Vineet Kumar, Bharat Anand, Sunil Gupta and Felix Oberholzer-Gee
  • The New York Times Paywall (Powerpoint Supplement) By: Vineet Kumar
  • The New York Times Paywall Update (B) By: D. L. Spar and Sunil Gupta
  • The New York Times Paywall Update (C) By: Sunil Gupta and D. L. Spar
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