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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Times now charging online readers | Times now charging online readers |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| The Times has introduced a paywall due to falling advertising income | The Times has introduced a paywall due to falling advertising income |
| The Times newspaper has begun charging readers to access its online content. | The Times newspaper has begun charging readers to access its online content. |
| From now on, access to the Times and Sunday Times website will cost £1 per day, or £2 a week if readers sign up to a subscription. | From now on, access to the Times and Sunday Times website will cost £1 per day, or £2 a week if readers sign up to a subscription. |
| News International, which owns the papers, announced plans to impose charges earlier this year in response to falling advertising income. | News International, which owns the papers, announced plans to impose charges earlier this year in response to falling advertising income. |
| Currently the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal are the only major papers to have similar paywalls. | Currently the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal are the only major papers to have similar paywalls. |
| All other national papers offer free access to their sites, but are likely to watch the launch of the Times paywall closely. | All other national papers offer free access to their sites, but are likely to watch the launch of the Times paywall closely. |
| Losing readers | Losing readers |
| Falling readership numbers and advertising revenues have put significant pressure on newspapers in recent years, and devising the best way to make money from content is seen as a major challenge for the industry. | Falling readership numbers and advertising revenues have put significant pressure on newspapers in recent years, and devising the best way to make money from content is seen as a major challenge for the industry. |
| Other papers including the Guardian have vowed to keep content free, pinning their hopes on a recovery in advertising revenues. | Other papers including the Guardian have vowed to keep content free, pinning their hopes on a recovery in advertising revenues. |
| Although the Times risks losing readers as a result of the new charges, News International hopes the charge will be low enough to attract sufficient readers. | Although the Times risks losing readers as a result of the new charges, News International hopes the charge will be low enough to attract sufficient readers. |
| Robin Goad from Experian Hitwise, which monitors web traffic, told BBC Radio 5 live's Wake Up To Money programme that traffic to the Times website had fallen "significantly". | Robin Goad from Experian Hitwise, which monitors web traffic, told BBC Radio 5 live's Wake Up To Money programme that traffic to the Times website had fallen "significantly". |
| "Since the registration wall has gone live, we've seen about a 60% drop in traffic over the last couple of weeks," he said. | "Since the registration wall has gone live, we've seen about a 60% drop in traffic over the last couple of weeks," he said. |
| However, "that is probably a little bit less of a drop than a lot of people expected... so this is quite a positive [figure]," he added. | However, "that is probably a little bit less of a drop than a lot of people expected... so this is quite a positive [figure]," he added. |
| Under an introductory offer, registered readers will be able to access the site for £1 for the first month. | Under an introductory offer, registered readers will be able to access the site for £1 for the first month. |
| Rivals benefit | Rivals benefit |
| The site has already been restricted to registered users for the last 30 days. | The site has already been restricted to registered users for the last 30 days. |
| "We have been very pleased with the response from readers since the launch," said Rebekah Brooks, News International's chief executive. | "We have been very pleased with the response from readers since the launch," said Rebekah Brooks, News International's chief executive. |
| "We believe the new sites offer real value and we look forward to continuing to invest and innovate for our readers." | "We believe the new sites offer real value and we look forward to continuing to invest and innovate for our readers." |
| Figures from Experian Hitwise showed that last week, 18% of visitors to the Times website then went to the special site to register for access (MyTimes+), indicating that they were willing to or interested in registering to see content. | |
| After that, the most popular destination for Times website visitors was the Telegraph, who picked up 3.8% of readers and the Guardian and Daily Mail sites who each received 2% of the Times' traffic. | After that, the most popular destination for Times website visitors was the Telegraph, who picked up 3.8% of readers and the Guardian and Daily Mail sites who each received 2% of the Times' traffic. |
| Experian points out that none of the paper's rivals has particularly benefited from Times readers needing to register for content. | |
| But that may change when readers have to start paying, it points out. | But that may change when readers have to start paying, it points out. |
| (Story continues below) | |
| The analysts also looked at it from the other direction - i.e. where other news websites' readers came from. | |
| From that perspective, the Independent received the largest proportion of its traffic from the Times' registration site, MyTimes+, closely followed by the Telegraph. | |
| "The Times' traditional broadsheet competitors are best placed to pick up readers not willing to register or pay to see its content," Experian Hitwise said. |