The New York Times accidentally sent out a discount email to more than 8 million people. 

The email offered recipients a 50 percent discount on a four-month subscription.

Initially, the Times claimed the email was spam, but later announced it was meant for a few hundred people who had cancelled their subscriptions.

The email urged them to reconsider their decision and offered a 50 percent discount for the first 16 weeks.

According to the Times, the email went out to readers who had given their email addresses to the newspaper.

"We regret that the error was made, but no one's security has been compromised," spokeswoman Eileen Murphy said.

Initially, the paper honored the discount, but when calls kept coming in, they decided to stop offering the deal, explaining it had been an error.     

"It is in our interest now to make sure people understand the correct situation," Murphy said.