Times looses almost 90% of online readership

Less than 3 weeks after the Times paywall went up, data shows a massive decline in the number of readers for its online version. At the registration page for thetimes.co.uk -25.6% users sign up and proceed to the Times site. The times has lose 90% of its readership, as compared to Feb'10 since making registration mandatory in June'10. 

Unregistered users of thetimes.co.uk are now "bounced" to a Times+ membership page where they have to register if they want to view Times content. Data from the web metrics company Experian Hitwise shows that only 25.6% of such users sign up and proceed to a Times web page; but it also says that traffic to the Times site is now only 4.16% of UK online newspaper traffic, compared with 15% before it made registration compulsory on 15 June.

Based on the last available ABCe data for Times Online readership (from February 2010), which showed that it had 1.2 million daily unique users, and Hitwise's figures showing it had 15% of UK online newspaper traffic, that means a total of 332,800 daily users trying to visit the Times site.

There are approximately 150,000 Times print subscribers who get a free online registration, but if the estimated 15,000 daily online users who agreed to pay opt for the £2 a week deal, the paywall will generate £120,000 a month – £1.4m a year.

The Times started redirecting traffic to registration pages on 15 June, and put the paywall fully in place on 2 July.

Courtesy: Josh Halliday, The Guardian