Paywall leads to two-thirds drop in Times online readership

The Times paywall has been responsible for a 66 per cent drop in online readership for News International's flagship paper, according to Experian Hitwise readership figures.

Many readers have balked at the £2 per week or £1 per day charge for access to the site, the Observer reported at the weekend, but the drop-off is not as high as the 90 per cent decline in online readers some industry experts predicted.

However, it does not mean that everything is rosy for Rupert Murdoch, News Corporation founder. There has been a 57.1 per drop in traffic to the web site over the past month, according to web site tracking company Alexa.

Print readership also continues to fall, with circulation of The Times standing at 503,642 in June, down by 14.77 per cent from 590,900 readers year-on-year, according to ABC figures.

Interestingly, when the costs are factored in, a print reader is said to be worth £26 per month, whereas an online reader contributes just £10 per month, media news site Beehive City suggested.

This would mean that the 27,500 new digital subscribers Beehive reported are actually equivalent to 10,576 new print readers.

Readership losses across both The Times and The Sunday Times can be averaged at 14,636, according to Beehive, meaning that the current online uptake is not enough to reverse fortunes of the paper.

This is a position that is unlikely to change as The Times iPad app costs £10 per month and does not provide anything revolutionary to justify the price. Sales of the app will likely drop or at the very least stay the same.

The Times could also face an uphill battle to keep its current paying online subscribers, as they will surely move on if they feel that they are not getting their money's worth.

Other news outlets will be awaiting the exact figures from The Times with baited breath, before deciding whether or not to make the jump to a paywall. V3.co.uk contacted The Times, which declined to comment on the figures and stated that subscription numbers will be released in due course.

19 Jul 2010