BBC Studios and BBC News have launched the first phase of a pay model for BBC.com visitors in the U.S., with the objective of growing international commercial revenue to help fund the BBC’s journalism and storytelling, as BBC has claimed in a statement.

In the initial phase of the launch, for less than $1 a week ($49.99/year) or $8.99/month, users who join will get unlimited access to the BBC’s news articles, feature stories and the 24/7 livestream of the BBC News channel.

In the coming months, testing and learning from audience consumption, the offer will include ad-free documentary series and films (including the full BBC Select documentary catalogue), ad-free and early release podcasts, and exclusive newsletters and content.

Rebecca Glashow, CEO BBC Studios Global Media & Streaming, explained: “Over three years ago, we set out on a bold mission: to completely reimagine how we deliver the BBC’s world-class news and factual content to consumers in the U.S.. Our goal? To serve our audiences better than ever before—and unlock new opportunities for growth. Today, the next phase of that vision becomes reality. We’re bringing more of the BBC’s trusted, high-quality content together in one powerful, easy-to-access destination. Over the next few months, as we test and learn more about audience needs and habits, additional long-form factual content will be added to the offer for paying users. This is a major milestone and just the beginning of an exciting new chapter”.

Deborah Turness, CEO, BBC News, added: “Through our partnership with BBC Studios we are growing our audiences in North America – providing more people with news they can trust at a time of dramatic global uncertainty”.

BBC.com is employing an engagement-based pay model where all users visiting the site from within the U.S. will be assessed based on how they interact with its content, including how much they read and how long they stay. Its intention is to allow casual readers to explore freely, while offering its most engaged users the opportunity to unlock even more. By opting to pay, the site offers unlimited access to all its content.

Visitors who choose not to pay will still have access to select global breaking news stories, BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service radio livestreams, BBC World Service Languages sites, and free newsletters and podcasts. The site will remain ad-supported.

The website, which is commercially funded and operates separately from other BBC platforms in the UK, identifies users based on their device’s geolocation, an industry standard practice to ensure compliance with the laws and content rights restrictions in each country. UK Licence Fee payers travelling to the U.S. for holiday or work can access their usual content via the BBC News app, as long as they’ve downloaded the latest versions from the UK app stores before travelling.

There will be no change to the services that people in the UK will receive and have access to. All the content that’s available on BBC.com is also available to UK audiences through the BBC’s various channels and services. There are no current plans to introduce a pay model outside of North America.