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After kicking the idea around for a good while, News Corp International and, by proxy, its subsidiary, the major UK newspaper The Times, has finally enacted a paywall around the Times site, making users register in advance of a planned paid content strategy.
Announced nearly a year ago, the plan gained a bit more momentum in March, when worldwide News Corp leader Rupert Murdoch suggested the changes would come "Within the next few weeks to months."
That's why, beginning in early June a new Times site, thetimes.co.uk, was set up, requiring visitors to register for a 'free preview' of content from the publication. News Corp subsequently redirected all queries to the old site - timesonline.co.uk - to the new URL.
And, its online readership has plummeted.
In the month of May, The Times commanded between 4 and 5 per cent of daily market share on any given day, which dropped, as of Wednesday 23 June, to a lowly 1.81 per cent daily market share.
Announced nearly a year ago, the plan gained a bit more momentum in March, when worldwide News Corp leader Rupert Murdoch suggested the changes would come "Within the next few weeks to months."
That's why, beginning in early June a new Times site, thetimes.co.uk, was set up, requiring visitors to register for a 'free preview' of content from the publication. News Corp subsequently redirected all queries to the old site - timesonline.co.uk - to the new URL.
And, its online readership has plummeted.
In the month of May, The Times commanded between 4 and 5 per cent of daily market share on any given day, which dropped, as of Wednesday 23 June, to a lowly 1.81 per cent daily market share.
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