New York Times announces metered model for website in 2011

Apple and the New York Times have a close relationship. The two firms often work together and we see NYT content used in Apple ads and commercials frequently. The NYT is also said to be one of the major content partners for the long rumored Apple Table expected this year. The NYT is one of the print publications that has been looking for ways to charge for its online content.

One of the long running battles in the online world is that of paid content versus free. Many large websites like the NYT website have long complained that readers should be paying for their content, not getting it free. The NYT is one step closer to making online readers pay with an announcement that it will be offering a metered model for NYTimes.com in 2011.

The metered plan will let online readers have access to a set number of free articles per month and then charge users when they exceed that amount for continued content access. The NYT figures this will allow it to strike a balance between free and paid content without losing search rankings and readers. Subscribers to the print version of the NYT will get free access to the website once it goes metered. Exactly how many articles will be allowed in the metered plan for free and what the subscription fee will be is unknown at this time.