When the New York Times rolled out its TimesSelect subscription service back in September, there was a lot of general bitching from the blogging peanut gallery, while I noted it was probably a successful move.

The numbers are now in, and my hunch proved out: 270,000 total paying customers (half of those online-only, instead of NYT print subscriber add-ons), good for an estimated annualized revenue stream of $4.95 million.

It goes to show: Media consumers will pay for online content, provided it’s distinctive and from an appealing brand. Apple’s iTunes was one good example; the Wall Street Journal’s Web subscriptions was as pertinent example of news product. TimesSelect joins the crowd, and likely will encourage others. They won’t all be successful — not many are likely to cough up dough for the Podunk Press’ columnists — but this establishes a model.