The BBC is launching a paywall in the US

The BBC wants to marque radical successful the US wage for its content. The nationalist broadcaster announced connected Thursday that it volition commencement offering US-based users an $8.99 per period (or $49.99 per year) subscription for “unlimited” entree to quality stories, diagnostic reports, and the BBC News transmission livestream.

Users successful the US volition inactive get escaped entree to “select” breaking quality stories, BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service vigor livestreams, BBC World Service sites, arsenic good arsenic newsletters and podcasts. BBC.com volition usage a “dynamic wage model” to amusement paywalls to definite readers depending connected however overmuch they work and however agelong they’re connected the site.

“This attack allows casual readers to research freely, portion offering our astir engaged users the accidental to unlock adjacent more,” the BBC writes successful its announcement. “By opting to pay, readers summation unlimited entree to each the site’s content.” The BBC says its website reaches 60 cardinal users successful the US alone.

The determination is meant to assistance the BBC drum up much gross arsenic the wealth collected from yearly licence fees successful the UK — which radical are required to acquisition to ticker unrecorded TV oregon usage BBC iPlayer — continues to tumble. Last year, around 500,000 households successful the UK canceled their licence interest arsenic much radical turned to streaming services similar Netflix. The UK authorities has considered trying caller methods to enactment the BBC, including extending licence fees to streaming-only users and vigor listeners, arsenic good arsenic rolling retired ads connected the BBC and taxing streamers, according to Bloomberg.

In the future, the BBC’s subscription volition see ad-free documentary series, films, and podcasts, on with entree to exclusive newsletters and different content. It notes that users based successful the UK won’t acquisition immoderate changes to however they entree the BBC, arsenic BBC.com volition emblem users based connected their device’s geolocation. UK users who question to the US tin besides proceed to work oregon watercourse BBC contented uninterrupted by accessing it done the BBC News app. 

The BBC notes that it presently doesn’t person plans to motorboat a subscription extracurricular of North America.