The News of the World will bring in a paywall for its online content within months, following in the footsteps of The Times and The Sunday Times. All three papers are owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News International.
The News of the World will be the first tabloid paper in the UK to charge for its web content, so it will provide an interesting test case for other “popular” press considering such a move.
It is believed that the newspaper will begin charging its readers for online access in October, three months after its sister newspapers, The Times and The Sunday Times, did the same. A source close to News International added that The Sun is likely to follow suit soon afterwards.
The News of the World is the most popular Sunday newspaper in the UK, with an average net circulation of 2.89 million, well ahead of its closest rival, the Mail on Sunday, which has an average circulation of 1.95 million.
Analysts believe that charging for tabloid content online will be challenging. Douglas McCabe, an analyst at Enders commented: “In demographic terms you’d expect the audience to be slightly less likely to pay for online content than Times readers.” He went on to say, “In terms of unique content, while the News of the World does break stories, in an online world, news tends to remain exclusive for a short period of time.”
News International has so far declined to comment.
