Salon.com To Charge For Ad-Free Content

Posted on March 21, 2001

Salon.com, an Internet media company founded in 1995, announced the launch of new, larger advertising units and plans for Salon Premium, a paid subscription service that will provide Salon users with an ``ad-free'' version of Salon, along with exclusive new content features.

Salon's new advertising formats were introduced by CNet and recently refined and adopted by the Internet Advertising Bureau. The first of the new ad units to be implemented will be the ``Messaging Plus'' unit, a large rectangle 336 x 280 pixel format. Intel and Lexus, two of Salon's longtime advertisers, will be the first to deploy the new ad formats on the Salon network.

Salon.com also announced that it is readying the roll-out of Salon Premium, a paid subscription service set for launch in April. Subscription benefits at launch will include the option to view Salon.com content without advertising banners and pop-ups, and access to exclusive new content. After its debut, Salon Premium will continue to provide new features, including additional content and a download feature enabling users to read Salon when not connected to the Internet.

Says Michael O'Donnell, CEO and president of Salon.com, ``We're excited to launch our first user-paid premium subscription, and hope to attract a significant number of paid users. We're providing our readers two compelling options to enjoy Salon -- on a free basis with prominent advertising, or an 'ad-free' version of Salon with an annual subscription. The Internet is all about flexibility and we're delighted to provide these options to both our advertisers and our readers.''