LONDON, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Publishers of The Sunday Times of London and The London Times said "large numbers" of customers are willing to pay for online news content.
In a move closely watched by media companies, News Corp. changed the two London newspapers to paid sites in June. Since then, News Corp. said Tuesday, 105,000 customers had signed up for paid subscriptions and 100,000 more paid subscribers of the newspapers' paper versions had signed up for free visits to their Web sites, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
"These figures very clearly show that large numbers of people are willing to pay for quality journalism in digital formats," said Rebekah Brooks, chief executive officer at News International, the division of News Corp. that publishes the two London papers.
The ability to make money from subscriptions, as well as advertisers, could be a game-changer for traditional media companies struggling to survive as the Internet draws advertising revenue and readers from traditional print formats.
Other newspapers have tried different approaches, including free trial periods or limited access to content. The Financial Times allows readers five free stories a month before content is hidden from non-paying visitors.
