FT to roll out new subscription service for business customers

by Alex Donohue Brand Republic 12-Feb-08, 09:45

LONDON - The Financial Times is to roll out a new subscription licence model for business customers that will allow clients to access content through FT.com and third-party suppliers, following a deal with financial business information company Alacra.

From April, business customers wishing to gain unlimited access to FT.com will be invited to subscribe to an FT content licence, allowing users to view content through FT.com and six major aggregators, including Alacra, Factiva and LexisNexis.

The FT said the updated subscription model, which is being provided through the Alacra platform, was created to separate FT content from that of other news aggregation services.

Alacra, which specialises in creating workflow applications for analysts and investors, said the deal with the FT would allow business customers to start using the service from April.

Caspar de Bono, managing director of B2B at the FT, said: "Corporate customers now have the benefit of buying one licence for multiple users of FT content across a variety of platforms -- both FT.com and third party channels."

Six news aggregation providers have signed up for the service to date, including Acquire Media Ventures, Citywebwatch, Genios, BvD, Factiva and Alacra.