'Washington Post' cuts e-edition price to $3.99 a month for Amazon Prime members
The Washington Post, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, cut Wednesday the price of its digital edition to $3.99 a month for Amazon Prime members, taking advantage of the paper's unique relationship with the retail giant to broaden its readership.
Starting Wednesday, the paper's national digital edition, which costs $9.99 a month, will be available for free for six months before the discounted charge appears for Prime members. Amazon Prime is a $99-a-year subscription service for expedited shipping, video streaming and a selection of loaned e-books on Amazon.com.
"Offering free access to new subscribers through Prime allows us to connect with millions of members nationwide who may not have tried The Post in the past,” Steve Hills, President of The Washington Post, said in a statement.
Bezos' incorporation of his newspaper to other Amazon's products has been widely anticipated since the billionaire bought the paper in October, 2013 for $250 million. And the latest move could have broad implications for the newspaper industry that's still struggling to balance the need for circulation revenue and readers' tendency to avoid paywalled sites.
"We see the wider Bezos strategy now playing out more clearly," wrote media analyst Ken Doctor on his site, Newsonomics.com. "Unsurprisingly, it is a profoundly Amazonian strategy: Build the customer base for years; reap the profits later."
Doctor noted that the $48-a-year price compares to about $348 a year for The Wall Street Journal and $455 for The New York Times. "Both the Times and the Journal have put increasing weight on reader pricing, and this Post initiative intends to disrupt that model," he wrote. "Will the Times, Journal and others feel the need to price differently?"
The offer -- customers can sign up on the Post's site -- is good for readers using a smartphone, tablet or computer. The Kindle edition of the Post still costs $11.99 a month.
Follow Roger Yu on Twitter: @RogerYu_.