The Washington Post is finally getting a little more help from its owner, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. The online retailer will now offer the digital edition of the pay-walled Post free for six months to its millions of Amazon Prime members, as first reported by Capital New York. After six months, Prime users will be able to continue to buy the Post for a reduced rate.
"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," said Steve Hills, president and general manager of the Post, in a statement.
The Amazon founder and CEO bought the Post two years ago for $250 million. Since then pundits have wondered if and how Bezos would integrate the Post into his other products, especially Amazon Prime and the Kindle. Last November, Kindle Fire users gained the chance to get reduced subscriptions to the Post with a new app.
Prime users will now be joining them. A digital subscription to the Post normally costs $9.99 a month, but Prime users will be able to get it for $3.99 after the free six months. The publisher has had a metered paywall on its site since June 2013. Readers coming to the site directly can read 20 stories for free; those who come from Google or social sites can read unlimited stories. The Post will be in addition to other services Prime members can get, including free shipping and free film, TV, and music-streaming for $99 a year.
