From Monday, readers of The Irish Times will be able to buy a subscription package for digital content on irishtimes.com and its app.
Readers will still be able to browse irishtimes.com and the app, reading 10 articles free every week on the website, and 20 on the app, on any one computer or device. This means many online readers who decide not to subscribe will be unaffected by the change.
Readers who wish to read more than 10 irishtimes.com articles per week and 20 on the app, on the same computer or device will be invited to subscribe in order to continue reading. The higher limit on the app reflects readers’ usage patterns.
It will become the first national daily newspaper in Ireland to introduce a metered subscription for its digital content. The metered subscription model is one favoured by international media organisations at the quality end of the market, such as The New York Times and the Daily Telegraph.
There are two digital subscription packages. A Standard Digital subscription, at €12 a month, gives readers unlimited access to irishtimes.com on up to three devices simultaneously.
It includes full access to the archives of The Irish Times, dating back to 1859, as well as the digital versions of the Simplex and Crosaire crosswords, invitations to subscriber-only events, eBooks and special offers. It also includes IT Sunday, a new subscriber-only digital newsletter.
Under a Premium Digital subscription at €16 a month, readers receive everything that is included in the Standard Digital package, plus the daily Irish Times Digital Edition – this is the "ePaper" that replicates how the title appears in print each day.
There are also two further offers that combine digital access with home delivery of the newspaper. The Complete Print & Digital package costs €50 a month, and a Weekend Print & Digital package €20 a month.
Readers who choose not to subscribe will still be able to freely access many parts of the site, including the homepage and section pages, videos, podcasts, liveblogs, photo galleries and blog posts. These will not count towards their quota of free weekly articles.
An article accessed via a link from social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter will also continue to be free. Access through search will be free, though subject to the daily limit of 5 imposed by most search engines. Each article accessed though search engines and social networks will count towards the quota of 10 articles per week.
More information is available here: http://www.irishtimes.com/message & http://www.irishtimes.com/digital-subscriptions