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5 years ago: Encyclopaedia Britannica is free

But not anymore...

Tags: encyclopaedia britannica

By silicon.com

Published: 20 October 2004 12:25 GMT

20.10.99: The Encyclopaedia Britannica says it will offer its content for free online.

Revenue will come from ecommerce, sponsorship and advertising. Certain information will be linked to places readers can buy related products.

The company once charged as much as £1,000 for a hard-backed set of its encylopedias but is taking the new approach due to dwindling sales of both its books and CD-ROMs.

The US version is live today while the UK version launches in January 2000.

20.10.04: Times have changed - and so has Encyclopedia Britannica's online offerings.

After trying out the free approach, the company now charges for access to its content online - £39.99 for a year, £4.99 a month and £2.99 a week on the UK site.

For this, you get rid of the ads that for a time plagued the site.

The company still uses ecommerce via an online shop where you can buy its informational DVDs and CDs as well as its print products. But it's opted for an ad-free environment that most customers prefer.

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