Times online to charge - well I won't be reading it then

avantra

Why the heck would I want to line Rupert's pockets with more gold? The stable door is open the horses are everywhere and anyone can take a ride whenever they want.

What a nice idea.

http://www.thebigproject.co.uk/news/index.htm

undetterred

carolt wrote: »

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article7076987.ece

Sounds like a stupid idea - too much good free stuff on the web to bother with paid for stuff.

Anyone else agree?

I'm sure the editor of the the times had a sleepless night over your're quandry.

carolt

It's not my quandary -I've made up my mind already, as the thread title explains.

I would certainly be having sleepless nights if I was the editor of the Times, though, I agree. It's a big gamble - if all the other big papers follow suit, he might have made some money, even if he's lost some readers.

But if they don't - he's screwed.

Rochdale_Pioneers

They're nuts. The free market has dictated the price people are willing to pay - nothing. Imposing costs will simply remove almost all visitors to their website, not bring in guaranteed revenue to line the dirty digger's vault.

Cleaver

Just my take on this, apologies if someone has already said this...

I see online news and a newspaper as two completely different things. I generally buy a newspaper because I want an hour or so to relax, or I have some time to fill. For example, sitting at home on a Sunday morning with a paper, waiting for a train for half an hour in a cafe, when I'm working away from home and I want something to read for an hour or so. Bascially, I buy a paper when I'm in the mood to read some different stuff and just chill out.

I tend to surf the net for news when I just want to find something out, or am snatching five minutes away from work. Quick glance at The Times website, or BBC News website to catch the main headlines, have a peak at an unusual story, keep up with something big going on or use the search facility to find out something I need to know. I would never sit there for three hours reading the whole Times Online.

For those reasons I think they've made a real mistake with this one.

wageslave

Tend to agree with Cleaver on this one.

I actually buy a newspaper on a daily basis but I wouldn't dream of suscribing online.

There has been talk of making online customers pay for ages but frankly I don't see how this will work.

We are all far too used to getting it for free.

I don't dispute that Murdoch is a clever man but I think he may well be confusing his customer base

kennyboy66_2

£2 per week for the Times or £2.80 for the TV Licence.

I buy the Times most weekdays but don't subscribe. I would resent having to pay twice. The problem they will have is that they are a generalist paper - too much is available for free on other sites. They have not a single writer who I would pay to read on line. Contrast this with the FT whose journalists are miles ahead.

Ps you can subscribe for significantly less than the £6 per week if you are crafty enough. My parents still pay £3 per week, every time they try to put the subs up they threaten to cancel. It's always worked so far.

lostinrates

Has anyone else had a phone call from the Times recently? They called this week with a special offer of discount. I apologised that I would not be taking them up at this time. DH and dad get newspapers via work mid week, we buy paper versions of everything one Sundays. If I were o buy a paper its probably preferable to have a paper copy for me...it cn be used in the chicken shed/to clean windows with after wards.

Anyway, they are doing offers now on the online price.

carolt

Interesting - wouldn't work for me, though, so good thing they've not bothered.

wigglebeena

If the Guardian went totally online, no hardcopy, I might subscribe. As it is, as long as I can get a hardcopy version, then the website is merely useful for researching the archives for items of interest. (But not useful enough to pay for.) And any other paper can go whistle, especially if they're charging.