Media August / September 2010

Papers’ Digital Charge

The Times became the UK’s first non-business daily newspaper to charge for digital content, several Japanese media outlets reported in July. The conservative daily and its sister paper The Sunday Times switched from free to paid content on 2 July. Users are charged £1 for one day’s access and £2 for a week’s subscription to both newspapers’ websites. Reports said owner News International had implied that two other papers, The Sun and News of the World, would follow suit.

The Guardian said on 20 July that The Times had lost almost 90% of its February online readership after making the paper available online only by subscription in June.