NEW YORK (AP) — People who subscribe to The New York Times on the Kindle and Nook electronic readers are now getting unlimited access to the newspaper's website at no extra cost.
The additional option became available Thursday, slightly more than three months after The New York Times began charging $15 every four weeks, or nearly $200 per year, to read more than 20 articles a month on its website.
When those fees were introduced in late March, Kindle maker Amazon.com Inc. promised that the e-reader's subscribers to The New York Times would eventually get the unrestricted website access as part of the package.
Subscriptions to The New York Times on both the Kindle and the Nook, which is sold by book store chain Barnes & Noble Inc., cost $20 per month.
That's the same price that the Times charges for a package that includes the website and electronic delivery of the newspaper to Apple Inc.'s hot-selling computer tablet, the iPad, which also competes against the Kindle and Nook.
The New York Times is hoping its website fees will generate more revenue without leaving a serious dent in its online traffic.
The third-largest U.S. newspaper needs to maintain a large Internet audience to keep advertisers happy and eager to spend money promoting their products and services on its website.
Selling packages that include unrestricted website access is one way Times management is trying to overcome a steep decline in print advertising that has caused its revenue to plunge over the past five years.
Shares of The New York Times Co. gained 31 cents Thursday to close at $9.31. That's more than 60 percent below the share price five years ago.
There are no comments yet