WASHINGTON (AFP) – The New York Post has blocked access to its website from the iPad's Safari Web browser in a bid to drive users of Apple's tablet computer to the newspaper's paid application.
An iPad user attempting to reach NYPost.com using Safari is met with a page that says "NYPost.com editorial content is now only accessible on the iPad through the New York Post App."
The New York Post iPad application costs $1.99 to download from Apple's App Store and gives a user an introductory 30-day subscription to the News Corp.-owned newspaper. A one-month subscription costs $6.99.
The ban on access to NYPost.com only applies to users of the iPad's Safari browser. Desktop or laptop computer users can access NYPost.com normally.
The New York Post's move is the latest in a campaign by News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch to start charging online readers of his newspapers in an era of shrinking newspaper circulation and eroding print advertising revenue.
Murdoch already charges for full online access to The Wall Street Journal and Britain's The Times and Sunday Times and News Corp.'s The Australian plans to begin charging from October.
News Corp. launched a digital newspaper created for the iPad, The Daily, in February which costs 99 cents a week.
