The Times Online have taken the plunge then, and announced they are to charge for online content come June. It must be said, the timing of the announcement doesn't seem ideal, just two days after Alistair Darling shared the fact that everything else was going to cost tons more as well (if you're a cider drinking Times reader you must be considering a long drive off a short pier right now) but there we go, what's said is said.
Will it work? Well, the problem with jumping first is that everyone can hang back and see how you get on, meaning that people can still get a free service from other providers. For a real chance of success, the newspapers could have all held hands and leapt together but as it is, the onlookers will be preparing their plan B's and C's whilst the Times takes all the impact.
The emphasis is very much on them now. Of course, £2 a week doesn't seem much to access content but it's still more expensive than £0 a week. They will have to ensure that what they're offering is superior to those around them exploiting every technology available to them including driving mobile use using all the tools that are rapidly flooding the industry. Everybody's watching, and unfortunately for the Times, those jumping later are likely to learn lessons from this ground breaking decision.
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