Times Online switches to paid-for-content

Under the paywall, customers will be requested to pay for access to www.thetimes.co.uk and www.thesundaytimes.co.uk. The new sites will be available for a charge of £1 for a day’s access or £2 for a week’s subscription.

As an introductory offer, all customers that register for the sites will get access to both sites for a one-off charge of £1 for the first 30 days. Access to the sites will be included in the seven-day subscriptions of print customers to The Times and The Sunday Times. iPad editions will continue to be charged separately.

The launch of the paid offer follows a month’s free trial period for registered customers after the launch of the new sites on 25 May.

According to a study by Experian Hitwise, The Times market share fell to 2.67% in the week ending 19 June from 4.37% for the week ending 22 May, after the registration process was introduced.

Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News International, says: “We have been very pleased with the response from readers since the launch of the new websites for The Times and The Sunday Times in May. The new sites showcase our award-winning journalism in a very visual way, giving readers exclusive content and interactivity so that they can get even more from the news. We believe the new sites offer real value and we look forward to continuing to invest and innovate for readers.”