The Times and The Sunday Times newspapers will begin charging for Internet access to content in June, offering subscriptions at 1 pound ($1.48) a day or 2 pounds a week, News International announced Friday.
Access to the digital services will be included in the seven-day subscriptions of print customers to The Times and The Sunday Times.
Newspapers have had mixed success in charging for access on the Web where many readers expect to get information for nothing. A key problem is finding a charging system that does not drive away so many users that the newspaper site loses its attraction for advertisers.
Charging might be risky, “but it’s less of a risk than just throwing away our journalism and giving it away for free,” James Harding, editor of The Times, said in a BBC radio interview.