The Times and Sunday Times have, after a long wait, revealed that the publications have over 350,000 subscribers to their print and digital bundles.
News UK, publisher of both titles, said on Friday “an ambitious strategy” to grow both print and digital subscriptions over the last three years has delivered a net growth in digital subscribers – with more than 150,000 across all platforms.
The total number of print subscribers has also grown by more than 50,000 in the same period since July 2010. The total number of print subscribers now stands at 200,000.
On The Times, digital subscribers now contribute over 25% of total paid sales, and together, total digital and print subscriptions now make up half the volume of total sales for the title.
“The Times and Sunday Times pioneered digital subscriptions and today we can see a solid customer base across every platform, including print,” said Mike Darcey, chief executive officer of News UK.
“Customers are clearly happy to pay for world-class news, sport, comment and analysis, and have welcomed a string of enhancements, new apps and the exclusive access to Premier League Goals this autumn. Charging for our journalism allows us to invest in our journalism, creating an even better experience for our readers and helping to secure a sustainable future for our titles.”
News UK had come under increasing pressure to share its figures with the industry and in an interview last month with Newsline, Charlotte Tice, head of press at Mindshare, said agencies desperately needed cross media metrics from newsbrands.
“Agencies are really prepared to invest in newsbrands across the platform and we really want to get our clients to do it,” Tice said. “But without the information to back us up it’s really difficult to get that investment through.”
