Financial Times website open for some free access

By Gavin Haycock

LONDON (Reuters) - Pearson, the world's largest education publisher, said on Monday it was partially opening up free access to its Financial Times newspaper as it adopted a new online business model.

From mid-October, the ft.com Web site will allow free access to 30 stories per month before subscription charges apply.

Pearson, said the change would allow blogs, news aggregators and other Web sites to access its content and link to the site more freely. The site's financial video, columns and markets coverage is also being extended.

The decision to open up ft.com follows trials in Italy and Spain, and marks the latest strategy initiative by news publishers trying to boost subscription and advertising revenue.

"The new model is innovative and flexible and will broaden our reach," said Financial Times Chief Executive John Ridding.

Last month, News Corp Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch said he was interested in making the online Wall Street Journal free while the New York Times recently decided to drop its subscription service for online articles.

The wsj.com currently charges an annual fee of $99, but Murdoch has said making it free would help boost viewership and revenue globally.

Standard and premium subscription for ft.com is 99 pounds ($201) and 199 pounds respectively.