• by Joe Mandese , Yesterday

The Washington Post has launched a new premium, ad-free version of its digital edition, making it the first of the nation's so-called Big 3 (including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal) to offer readers the ability to bypass advertising altogether.

The new ad-free edition is being offered as a subscription "add-on" for $50 per year.

The Washington Post stopped reporting financial data after it was acquired by Jeff Bezos in 2013, but industry analysts estimate it generates as much as $75 per subscriber in advertising revenue each year.

While some international (The Guardian, The Independent) and local newspapers offer ad-free subscription options, the Washington Post appears to be the first of the major national U.S. newspapers to do so, though USA Today does offer an "ad-lite" subscription serving about half the conventional advertising load.