Boston.com, a free service of Boston Globe Media since its launch 30 years ago, is adding a paywall. According to a memo sent to the staff Wednesday afternoon and provided to me by a trusted source, the site is moving to a metered paywall that can be tailored “as we learn more.” I take that to mean Boston.com will offer a certain number of free shares per month that may be moved up or down depending on what the data show.
The cost is $5 a month for a combined subscription to Boston.com and Boston magazine, which Globe Media acquired in January of this year. Strangely enough, the cost is the same even if you only want Boston.com. Those are introductory offers; the site is also offering a non-discounted annual subscription fee of $90 that leaves out BoMag. It’s a little confusing — and don’t get me started on the completely different subscription offers you’ll find at BoMag. I’d say some unsnarling needs to be done.
According to Globe Media spokeswoman Carla Kath, Boston.com subscribers will not be able to offer gift links to non-subscribers, although non-subscribers will be able to read a certain number of free articles each month.
“The number of free articles is something that will be tested and adjusted over time based on a number of different factors,” she said by email. “The average reader is unlikely to see a paywall, but we will be asking readers that view a much higher amount than average to help support the journalism that Boston.com produces by becoming a subscriber.”
Globe subscribers will not be able to access Boston.com for free, but Kath said there may be some kind of combination offer in the future. It seems like that’s something they ought to throw in. We already pay $36 for a digital-only subscription to the Globe, which is among the highest charged by any newspaper.
When Boston.com flickered to life in 1995, the Globe — then under New York Times Co. ownership — had several media partners, which meant that it was where you could access New England Cable News and Banker & Tradesman, among other news organizations. The centerpiece was the Globe, which everyone had free access to, as was the practice in those days. The site also offered quite a bit of extra content such as blogs written by members of the community.
As free news sites supported by advertising proved to be a poor business proposition, the site was split in two in 2011, with a paid Globe.com site offering the paper’s journalism and a still-free Boston.com. Shorn of its most useful content, Boston.com has gone through a number of iterations over the years under both Times Co. ownership and, since 2013, under John and Linda Henry. Currently it’s sort of a lite version of the Globe, with an emphasis on breaking news, sports, real estate and events. Sometimes the site will offer its own version of a story that’s also in the Globe, and sometimes it will publish a short version with a come-on to subscribe to its more comprehensive sibling.
The paywall strikes me as a risky move given that Globe Media already charges for the Globe. Yes, the Boston.com rate will be much lower than a non-discounted Globe subscription, but the Globe regularly sends out emails offering digital access for $1 for the first six months. But given that the news economy continues to be terrible, I wish the Globe success.
A couple of other points. The memo hints that Boston.com will be used to test the best way to approach a metered paywall, which the Globe doesn’t have at the moment. Perhaps that will change as Globe Media begins to accumulate data. I also don’t want to overlook the assertion that a paywall for Boston.com will enable the company to earn some revenue from Apple News Plus and Google Discover.
The memo sent to the staff follows, signed by Globe Media CEO Linda Henry, president Dhiraj Nayar, senior vice president of consumer revenue Tom Brown and Boston.com editor Kaitlyn Johnston.
Launch of New Subscription Strategy for Boston.com
Dear Team,
As part of our subscription strategy, we are launching a metered paywall on Boston.com today. Having a paywall will unlock additional opportunities on Apple News Plus and on Google Discover, while allowing us to directly know and better serve more of our readers.
We have developed a real expertise on subscriptions on Globe.com, so we can tailor our approach to resonate with Boston.com’s audience. As with the Globe, we will continue to test and adapt the paywall — what we are launching with today will certainly change as we learn more. This new approach for Boston.com opens opportunities to grow subscriptions and readership across our media portfolio.
Boston.com subscribers will have unlimited digital access to the site’s comprehensive coverage of news, sports, weather; a subscriber-only newsletter; and more that is under development.
This expansion comes as we celebrate the remarkable 30-year milestone anniversary of Boston.com this November with the launch of a new, community-focused marketing campaign that conveys the legacy and excitement of this new chapter. As part of this celebration, we will be hosting a 30th anniversary event on November 6, recognizing the employees and partners who have played a role in the history and future of Boston.com. Details will be shared soon.
Finally, all Boston Globe Media employees can register to have complimentary access to Boston.com. …
Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm as we continue to experiment, expand, and evolve to better serve our community.
Thanks all,
Linda, Dhiraj, Tom, Kaitlyn
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