The Toronto Star unveiled a new digital paywall program to charge for access to their website and online news service. The price for digital access is about $5 if you subscribe to the newspaper and $10 if you do not. The newspaper will allow ten article views per month, until they prompt you to subscribe.
Earlier in the year the Toronto Star implemented the first phase of their new digital strategy with a freshly designed website. It introduced exciting features that enhance the reading experience for their subscribers and address the needs of advertisers. These include more videos, live blogs, chats and breaking news, as well as the in-depth journalism.
Subscribers to the Toronto Star Digital Access program will receive full access to thestar.com, including all the news articles, columnists, investigative reports, profiles, sports, blogs, multimedia features and much more.
The Star is just the latest major Canadian newspaper to develop and implement a paywall. The Globe and Mail already has one in place, as do Postmedia papers, including the National Post and Montreal Gazette, and the Quebecor-owned newspapers including the Toronto Sun. Newspapers are embracing this model due to the success of the New York Times.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.