Earlier reporting of Times editor James Harding’s comments to Tuesday’s Society of Editors conference said that one of the paper’s anticipated, upcoming paidcontent models would be charging for “24-hour access” to a “digital edition of The Times“. But points of clarification must be made…
— Harding meant 24-hour access to the Times Online site, and not to a snapshot digital replica edition of the morning paper – something The Times already charges £2.50 for.
— Longer-term subscriptions will also be available, but that’s as was always expected (today’s news was really only about the day pass addition).
— Both access models will come along with a relaunch for Times Online this coming spring, a News International spokesperson confirmed to paidContent:UK.
— And the spokesperson again confirmed The Sunday Times will once again get a separate website – though that launch, and associated charges, will come after the springtime Times Online reboot.
We had heard that The Sunday Times was considering putting piecemeal parts of its content – ie. star columnists – behind the wall, but not necessarily the whole thing. But the 24-hour and subscription access models don’t necessarily preclude this strategy either.
Most interesting is how Times Newspapers can effectively operate a Times Online website network that will be devoid of any Sunday content.