Times newspaper will start to charge for online content

After months of debate, Murdoch-owned, the Times  and Sunday Times newspapers are introducing payments of its online content. The price will be £1 per day or £2 per week. The fees will be introduced in June this year. It is said other newspapers in the News International  Group will follow. The announcement follows the news that the newspaper had lost over £50m last year:

“Losses at Times Newspapers Limited widened from £51.3m in the previous year, dragging Rupert Murdoch’s entire British newspaper empire to a £4.5m pre-tax loss. Newscorp Investments, the holding company which owns The Sun, The News of the World, The Times, The Sunday Times, had made a £131.5m profit in the same period in 2008.” Source

In the meantime, the Financial Times  has loosened up its paid model slightly. The upmarket and specialist newspaper has been one of the few success stories in its ability to charge for online content. This is attributed to the relevance of the information to companies and individuals who use it to base business decisions on.

“New York—The Financial Times has tweaked its metered model for enabling access to content on FT.com, a spokesperson confirmed Monday. Previously, users could access one FT.com article before they were acquired to register. Now they must register before accessing any articles.” Source

For more information on the Times model check out this short interview

Picture: Stock Exchange | Black-wall | Stefaan-Smets