The New York Times Announces Worldwide Free Access

Posted on July 14, 1998

The New York Times announced that foreign visitors to the newspaper's website, The New York Times on the Web, will now have free access to the site. Previoiusly foreign users paid US$35. per month to subscribe. The decision coincides with the first full-scale redesign of the site's home page since its 1996 debut.

The new home page features news coverage 24 hours a day (updated every 10 minutes), more links to top stories, a real-time summary of what's happening in the U.S. financial markets and a more convenient search engine.

"Internet usage overseas is growing at a faster pace than domestic usage and we are intent on building our franchise worldwide," said Martin Nisenholtz, president, The New York Times Electronic Media Company. "We are convinced that our advertiser-supported, no-fee registration model, which has worked so well for us here, is the best path to accomplish this. Furthermore, almost half of our marketing partners make use of the site's unique targeting capabilities. We'd like to offer this to advertisers worldwide."

The new no-charge pricing policy is effective immediately, but there will be a charge for accessing a couple of the site's sections including The New York Times crossword puzzle and article retrievals from the newspaper's vast archives.