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Paywall Cuts Murdoch's Times Traffic by Two-Thirds

by Amar Toor on July 19, 2010 at 11:10 AM

FacepalmAs you may be aware, U.K.-based paper The Times recently put up a paywall for some of its online content, much to the chagrin of pretty much everyone who isn't named Rupert Murdoch. It should come as no surprise, then, that the paper's online readership has fallen off steeply since the wall was implemented. Still, the drop hasn't been as bad as some had anticipated.

As Reuters reports, the Times is currently seeing only about a third of the traffic it enjoyed prior to putting up the paywall, but many industry experts had predicted that visits would drop by as much as 90-percent. Some analysts point out, however, that the comparatively slight decline may be due to the generous introductory offer that the company offered users shortly after erecting the wall. Still, most online media moguls will likely be concerned with the Times' balance sheet more than they are its traffic report, and, if the paywall proves to be financially viable for Murdoch and News Corp., many others will likely follow suit. [From: Reuters]

Tags: journalism, media, money, news, newspaper, online, PayWall, rupert murdoch, RupertMurdoch, TheTimes, TheTimesOnline, top

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