Washington Post's metered paywall to be 'phased in' from 12 June

The Washington Post has set a date for the launch of its metered paywall online, which will be "phased in" for digital users from Wednesday 12 June.

The Post announced its intention to launch digital subscriptions in March, at which time is offered some details on its plans, which included a metered approach with an allowance of "20 articles or multimedia features" a month, before subscriptions will be required to continue to access content.

This matches the allowance originally offered by the New York Times when it first launched its paywall, although this has since been reduced to ten.

Today The Post also confirmed the digital subscription charges, which will be either $9.99 a month to access the website on a desktop or mobile device, or $14.99 for what The Post is calling "the Digital Premium package", adding that this will also include "access to all of The Post’s custom apps".

According to a press release, "The Post plans to implement the meter to random selections of readers to ensure they have the best possible experience". It added that the introduction of the subscriptions will take place "over a period of several weeks".

In the release, publisher of The Post, Katharine Waymouth, added that "over the coming months, we will learn more about how everything is working, listen to reader feedback and modify our model accordingly".

"There is going to be a great deal of experimentation ahead to strike the right balance between ensuring access to critical news and information and building a sustainable business."

Back in March The Post explained its plans in an online article, in which it said "access to The Post’s home page, section front pages and classified ads will not be limited".

In the UK, the Telegraph launched a metered paywall for UK users in March, also giving a monthly subscription-free allowance of 20 articles, in a follow-up to its existing paywall for international visitors. The Sun's website is also due to launch a paywall in August, which, like fellow News International newspaper websites the Times and Sunday Times, will require subscription to access content.

• For more on paywall-related news across the industry see Journalism.co.uk's paid content topic page.

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