In the pursuit of News Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch’s internet model for paid content, yet another UK publication has removed it’s free website content in favour of putting up a pay wall.  The News Corporation-owned top selling Sunday paper in the United Kingdom, The News of the World, has recently made the change from free content to pay per day and subscription services on its website.

The formerly all-access site has followed the example set by its sister publications in the United Kingdom, the Times and the Sunday Times.   The online versions of both publications were converted to the pay model in June of this year, branching out into the until-recently uncharted territory of paid online newspaper subscriptions.  The lone News Corp-owned UK publication to remain in free online format is the Sun, with rumours circling that it too will soon be converted to paid format.

For all the controversy surrounding Murdoch’s paid model, the cost of online access to News of the World is by no means astronomical.  Pay-per-day costs come in at a whopping £1, while a month long subscription to the online service is only £1.99: more than 200% discount from current newsstand prices for NOTW Sunday editions.  Like other News Corporation publications that have recently made the switch to paid, the online version of NOTW also comes with extra features including video advertising and an added “Fabulous” section.  Tickers and scrolling headlines allow readers to browse the publication more quickly and effectively than was ever possible with the print version.

The current NOTW site suggests that an iPad application is currently in the works, with loads of exciting new features and extras. Thus, it would appear that Murdoch’s paid online subscription model is gaining momentum.  Trial services, customer registration and new domain hosting strategies are all set to be implemented, mimicking the corporation’s current online publications in the United States.  These include, most notably, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, both of which began charging for online subscriptions and access to digital archives some time ago.  Perhaps best of all, NOTW will remain on the newsstands to be picked up by die-hard print readers and subscribers.  Digital is just another of News Corp’s many distribution avenues, and one which should help with the bottom line in light of the current financial hard times.