Straits Times readers to pay for website use

"We do know there will be a lot of unhappy people out there who want the content free, but we're determined to bring them round," said Patrick Daniel, managing editor of the English and Malay newspapers division of Singapore Press Holdings, publisher of The Straits Times. Daniel said SPH felt publishing content for free online while people paid for the newspaper was no longer a tenable business model. SPH first levied charges on another of its websites, its financial paper the Business Times, two years ago, in what was seen as an attempt to stem falling circulation. The company has yet to disclose the number of people subscribing to the BT website, however. "Part of the reason is that it's still an experiment," Daniel said. "That experiment hasn't finished yet." The Straits Times Interactive will become a paid website from the middle of the month, available for S$15 (US$9.2) a month, or less if people take out a six-month or yearly subscription. Subscribers to the print edition are entitled to a 50 per cent discount. The online version of the paper has been beefed up to match its offline edition, with a seven-day archive, but there are no plans for exclusive online content, apart from breaking news. Daniel said SPH was deliberately taking a gradual approach with The Straits Times Interactive and would review content, subscriptions and ad rates, which are currently unchanged, in the light of reactions from the marketplace. "We will monitor it closely," he added. Although papers are increasingly moving towards keeping websites free, collecting registration information instead that they can sell to advertisers as the online ad sales market gains momentum, some have successfully introduced charges for their online editions, including the Asian Wall Street Journal and the South China Morning Post. "It's a very brave move, but not increasingly a successful one," said mOne's Asia-Pacific MD, Alice Manners. "Young people have grown up with everything free. That's why we've not seen the paid model taking off." sm