Like many online
publishers seeking additional revenue streams, The New York Times is getting into the Groupon-led daily deal space with TimesLimited. Unlike most publishers, however, the NYT has chosen
to build its own deal platform rather than partner with Groupon or one of its many rivals.
"This is a natural extension for the Times," Denise Warren, SVP and chief advertising officer
for The New York Times Media Group and general manager of NYTimes.com, told Online Media Daily. "We believe we have the assets, the consumer reach and the relationships with the advertisers to
do this on our own."
First reported by paidContent on Wednesday, TimesLimited is not the publisher's first foray into the deal space. "We have had success with our existing e-mail based
advertising programs, like Sophisticated Shopper and Great Getaways," a NYT spokeswomen explained. That said, "we are excited about the product because it is a natural extension of what the
Times already does, connecting advertisers with the Times' highly desirable audience."
The NYT is currently building an e-mail list of people who have opted in to
receive TimesLimited offers, and it plans to be delivering them to in-boxes before the end of the month. To be clear, the newspaper isn't building TimesLimited from scratch. "We are using a
white-label solution for the e-commerce portion of the product," the spokeswomen explained.
At launch, TimesLimited is focused on the New York area, and the company would not say whether
it's considering a broader national rollout. Amid the rise of Groupon and the social ecommerce industry, publishers seem incapable of resisting the promise of additional revenue. This past year saw
the arrival of AOL's Wow.com, The Knot's Deals.WeddingChannel.com and Thrillist's Rewards program, to name a few.
In the
meantime, McClatchy -- owner of The Miami Herald and The Sacramento Bee -- announced plans last July to partner with Groupon. Per the deal, Groupon is distributing content about shops
and deals that is only available to 28 of McClatchy's local Web sites.