The introduction of a new structure of paid digital circulation comes as the promotion that gave 100,000 NYT digital subscribers access through subsidized a Ford Lincoln marketing campaign enters its last month in December.
The NYT won’t estimate how many of those users it expects to convert to paying for their own access after the Lincoln digital subscription coverage ends. Under that program, which began roughly a month after the NYT introduced its metered paywall for complete access to its website and other digital formats last spring, a limited amount of users who clicked on a Lincoln ad on the NYT homepage were offered the digital subscription for the rest of 2011 after paying a one-time $35 fee.
There are currently three tiers for digital access to the NYT content. Although there are often discounts offered, it regularly charges $35 for complete monthly access to the NYT’s website, smartphone and tablet content; $15 a month for the site and smartphone access; and $20 a month for the site and tablet only. Print subscribers also get the option of free digital access.
The new group subscriptions will be offered according to those three tiers and will be discounted from those above prices, said Ray Pearce, the NYT’s VP for Circulation and Reader Applications, in an interview with paidContent. The rates will be determined by the number of individuals a company or organization adds.