Fans of The New York Times will be pleased to hear that starting today, you can read up to 15 articles for free on NYTimes.com whenever you connect to the Internet in Starbucks.
Coffee enthusiasts that browse the website through the Starbucks Digital Network (SDN) will now be able to read three articles from five different sections each day.
Top News, Business, Technology and Most E-Mailed will be consistent throughout the week, but the final section will rotate every 24 hours; Sports on Monday, Science on Tuesday, Dining on Wednesday, Styles on Thursday, Weekend on Friday, The Magazine on Saturday and finally, the Sunday Review.
It’s important to note that The New York Times is only dropping its paywall, however, for Starbucks stores located in the US that offer free AT&T WiFi.
The partnership makes an awful lot of sense. Starbucks now has an extra incentive to try to tempt customers into walking into a store on a regular basis. The rotating sections should help to bring people into Starbucks more than once a week, but perhaps more importantly by reading the newspaper online they’ll stay in the store for longer, increasing the chances of them buying more coffee.
The New York Times has tried to be resolute with its decision to implement a paywall online. At the moment readers can access 10 articles for free each month, after which they’ll need to take out an online subscription. The problem is that the newspaper is constantly battling to try to bring in new, loyal readers. Not the sort that might stop by once a week, but those who want to buy and read The New York Times on a regular basis. In other words, potential subscribers.
The news organisation will hope that by taking down some of its paywall in Starbucks, more people will get into the habit of reading the publication on a consistent – or as a best case scenario, daily – basis.
“Starbucks is the ideal setting for The Times to offer enhanced digital access,” said Yasmin Namini, senior vice president, marketing and circulation, The New York Times. “Customers on SDN will discover a diverse selection of Times content updated in real-time, from the day’s top stories to more in-depth features and opinion.”
Image Credit: John Moore/Getty Images
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