UK broadsheet newspaper The Daily Telegraph has announced that they are expanding their metered paywall to UK readers. The Telegraph is the first UK daily general interest newspaper to use a metered paywall, where free users are able to access 20 articles for free, following the model created by the FT in 2007, and also follows The Times which went exclusively behind a paywall in 2010.
Those wishing to read more than 20 articles per month from the Telegraph can either subscribe only to the website for £1.99/month or £20/year, or they can get access to the website alongside the Telegraph’s mobile and tablet apps for iOS, Android, and Windows for £9.99/month or £99/year.
Readers are still able to buy the Telegraph in printed form as well for £30.37/month or £364/year which will give them full access to the website and apps as well as the printed newspaper.
This change from complete free access to limited free access and a paywall comes at a time when most newspapers are facing financial difficulties, with ever increasing competition for pageviews online, and digital advertising rates simply not matching those available in print. UK broadsheets The Guardian and The Independent both remain completely free to access online for the time being.
Here at The Descrier we do not have the legacy overheads of traditional news organisations, and have no plans to erect a paywall to access the content on our pages. Even our apps, including today’s release of Descrier 2.0 for iPhone, are completely free and carry no advertising.
