The UK’s biggest newspaper is the latest of the British press to raise a content paywall system for their online website, thus only allowing paying members access to the news it puts online. This move is following on from The Telegraph also announcing its paywall plans earlier in the week.
With the state of the British media being in a big flux (ahem…), one of the most drastic changes newspapers are facing is the change from physical to digital content, and over 2 years ago The Times became the first UK newspaper to make changes and started a paywall news site.
The nes system will see people have to subscribe to a monthly paid service to access onto the Sun website and to see many fo the features that are currently online. However, The Sun has a slight ace up its sleeve as subscribers will also get access to Premier League clips as part of the pay-for package.
This Premier League clips service also gives a hint as to why The Sun has to change to a paid service, as clips of anything Premier League related will be costly for the newspaper to offer.
What is clear is that the way news is being digested has drastically changed in the last decade, and with internet users reluctant to pay for anything that they have previously gotten for free, it’s easy to see that the change to a paywall service won’t be well received.
The Times saw a massive drop off in visitors when it went to the paywall structure but with the pay to view service still continuing it’s clear that there is a benefit for the restrictions. Additionally, services are also becoming more than just news, with The Times offering exclusive deals to subscribers like free cinema tickets and money-off vouchers.
Pricing and a changeover date have not been announced for The Sun’s paywall change but it’s thought that the change will come in at the start of the new 2013/2014 Premier League football season in August.