Times and Sunday Times offer free online access for the Jubilee

The Times and Sunday Times websites will be free to access over the Jubilee weekend for the first time since News International launched its digital paywall two years ago.

The Rupert Murdoch-owned company has announced plans to remove the Times paywall on Saturday and Sunday to “celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee”.

The free web offering is the culmination of a three-week editorial and marketing campaign to mark the occasion.

It normally costs £2 a week for web-only access to The Times and Sunday Times‘ online offering, and up to £6 a week for seven days of newspapers combined with internet and tablet access.

Total paid-for digital subscribtions to The Times and Sunday Times now stands at 131,000 (a mix of contract and recurring monthly subscriptions). Speaking at MediaTel Group’s Future of National Newspapers event earlier this month, Dominic Carter, commercial director at News International, revealed that The Times and Sunday Times‘ total print and digital subscribers are up to 297,000.