Subscribers to the New York Times E-Edition, an exact digital replica of the print version, got word today that rates are being hiked to $19.99 a month— a 33.4 percent increase from $14.99. That’s the same price the New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) flagship is charging for the Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) eNewspaper version and could well be set to match the paper plans to charge when it launches its promised paid iPad app. That makes the NYT on Kindle a bargain at $13.99. Could it be headed for a price increase, too?
The increase is effective today for new subscriptions but doesn’t kick into effect for current subscribers until October 1. The $19.99 ($239 a year) is for seven days a week; it’s $14.99 (nearly $180 a year) a month for Monday-Friday. By comparison, an NYC metro print sub runs $11.70 a week for seven days—50 percent less for 12 weeks if the sub sets up automated credit card billing. That’s about $46 a month or $608 a year so the e-versions work out to a substantial discount from full-freight print and a slight discount from the half-price offer. Home delivery rates are higher outside New York.
iPad debut, plans: Meanwhile, the NYT first news iPad hit the iTunes store today, the free NYT Editors Choice with a limited selection of automatically updated news, features, videos, etc. laid out with a newspapery feel and offline reading capability; it’s sponsored exclusively at launch by Chase Sapphire. The paper’s announcement includes a promise that a “full, paid” app is on the way.
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