On Friday 2nd July 2010, News International implemented their controversial paywall system on The Times and Sunday Times websites. Paywall systems are not a new development; examples such as the Financial Times and Autosport already have such systems in place, however, these are generally constrained to niche markets where customers expect to pay to access specialised content about business or sport.

At £1 per day or £2 for a week’s access to Times+, the costs are not high, at least certainly not on a par with their broadsheet counterparts. Nonetheless, this is 2010 and the current internet savvy generation are used to getting their content for free.

Latest reports suggested that since the introduction of the paywall, visitors to The Times sites have fallen through the floor, losing as much as 90% of their 10 million monthly visitors. The counter is that even if between 2% and 5% of the 10 million visitors pay to access the content, this more than makes up for the shortfall in online advertising and Mr Murdoch will still be quids in.

As The Guardian and The Independent have no plans in the offing to charge consumers for online content all eyes will be on the News International Group to see if the paywall system takes off or is quietly dropped in the next couple of years.

Ross