A new subscription program at timescolonist.com allows casual readers to read 20 articles per month for free and asks people who want unlimited access to pay a monthly fee.
All visitors to the website continue to be able to browse the home page, with the day's top stories, and the local news, arts, sports and business section fronts for free. Significant breaking news stories also remain free of charge.
See our full FAQ here.
Some common questions:
Why are you doing this?
Newspapers traditionally relied on advertisers to underwrite the costs of providing a print newspaper at low cost to readers.
With people increasingly getting their news online, on their smart phones or tablets, the Times Colonist needed to consider a new business model to cover the costs of producing news for all platforms.
What is a timescolonist.com online subscription? How much does it cost?
Choosing an online subscription to timescolonist.com provides you with unlimited access to the timescolonist.com web site from any computer or web-enabled device. Print subscribers receive a preferred rate. Click here for all rates and details.
I get home delivery of the newspaper. Do I get free access?
Current subscribers to the print edition of the Victoria Times Colonist receive a preferred rate. To check out subscription rates and to purchase unlimited free access to timescolonist.com click here.
What if I don't want to subscribe - can I still read timescolonist.com for free?
As a non-subscriber to timescolonist.com you can enjoy a limited time offer of up to 20 free articles every 30 days on timescolonist.com. Once you have reached your limit of free articles, you have the option to select a timescolonist.com online subscription which gives you unlimited access to our content anytime, anywhere - or come back the next month for another set of free articles. Significant local breaking news is exempt and will not count toward your monthly limit.
What counts as an article?
An individual story, a video or an entire photo gallery are all examples of one article. You can read the same article without it being counted a second time. For instance if you post a comment, you can later return to see what other comments have been added.
What is the difference between an online subscription to timescolonist.com and a subscription to the digital edition of the newspaper?
An online subscription to timescolonist.com provides you with unlimited access to stories, videos, photo galleries and more by our award-winning team of journalists - news and features that are updated daily from your city, the province, and the world - available from any computer or web-enabled device. The digital edition of the newspaper is a page-by-page replica of the day's printed newspaper - including all stories, sections, photos and ads - in PDF form and provides the in-depth coverage and features found in our daily printed edition newspaper. The digital edition also translates into other languages, which allows you to magnify for easier reading and share articles with friends.
More information is available on our FAQ page.