The Mirror has a paywall now. The "will readers pay?" debate is over.
62 English-language publishers now have 100,000+ paying digital subscribers, up from 24 in 2020. The new question: when everyone charges, what makes you the chosen one?
The Mirror has a paywall now. As do the Daily Star, the Express and the Daily Record.
It's the end of the ultimate "will-they-won't-they" debate. For two decades the industry argued about whether consumer news readers would ever pay online - always framed around the premium end: the FT, the Times, the broadsheets with affluent audiences.
Now here we are: Mirror+ launched at £3.99 a month - the fourth Reach national title with a subscription, and the fifteenth across the group. The Sun charges £6.99 for premium articles. The Mail, £9.99.
The trigger is obviously traffic, or the lack of it. When the algorithm stops delivering readers, you have to ask readers to come to you directly - and to pony up.
Zoom out and the picture is striking: Press Gazette now counts 62 English-language publishers with 100,000+ paying digital subscribers, up from 24 in 2020. That's 54 million paid subscriptions - nearly triple the 20 million of five years ago.
So the age-old question - "will readers pay?" - is settled. Which brings the new question into focus: when everyone charges, 'paid' stops being a differentiator.
What's your brand's reason to be the chosen one?
(Originally shared on LinkedIn.)