Figures released by News International claim The Times newspaper is getting an average of 35,000 downloads a day on its iPad app...and The Sunday Times 31,000.
The Times' subscription is £9.99 for 30 days and it's difficult to gauge if the user statistics spell success or not because the iPad is a new form of distribution. But they're certainly not bad.
The same can be said for subscribers to The Times and The Sunday Times websites, which went behind a paywall a year ago. NI is claiming it's signed up more than 100,000 paying customers - up 28% from the end of February.
As a comparison, The Guardian launched a subscription iPhone app in January and earlier this month said it had 67,000 active subscribers. But its app is much cheaper - £3.99 for a year.
News International's plunge into digital subscription certainly can't be described as a failure, but it's hardly a resounding success either. UK Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks says:“One year on from launching the paywall, we’ve proved people are willing to pay for quality journalism in digital formats. Many doubted if our strategy would be successful; here is unequivocal proof it’s moving in that direction.”(Source: Marketing Week)
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