Amazon will offer Washington Post subscriptions to Prime members beginning Wednesday.
Prime Members who sign up will receive the national digital edition for free for six months, and then be charged $3.99 per month after that. A yearly subscription costs $9.99 per month. Prime membership costs $99 anually.
The move by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to make his newspaper available to e-commerce subscribers is a play to broaden the reach of the paper as more digital and social sites like Facebook develop media content.
“Growth is the fundamental goal,” Steve Hills, the paper’s general manager, told Politico.
“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,” Hills said in a statement to the media on Wednesday. “With this special offer, Prime members can see firsthand why more than 50 million people monthly choose The Washington Post as their source for news.”
“The Washington Post offers world-class journalism that can be conveniently accessed through a variety of devices,” Greg Greeley, vice president of Amazon Prime, said. “We’re always looking for ways to enhance Prime for our members and we’re excited to be able to offer them six months of free unlimited digital access to The Washington Post National Digital Edition and at a deeply discounted monthly rate thereafter.”