Fee for ‘Irish Times’ online

The Irish Times is to start charging readers for access to its online content from next Monday as it believes advertising revenue can no longer sustain its online journalism.

The newspaper will operate a “leaky paywall” whereby readers will be able to read up to 10 articles per week for free on any one computer or device.

Two main digital subscriptions will be available, including a standard package that will allow access to all content on the Irish Times’s website as well as its digital archive for €12 per month on up to three devices.

Under a more expensive €16 per month premium subscription, readers will also have access to the the daily digital edition, or ePaper, which replicates the print format each day.

Editor Kevin O’Sullivan said the move will “support future investment in journalism” across both its print and digital offerings.

“The scale of digital change is phenomenal and it has hit every single media organisation. It goes beyond newspapers into television, radio, and film,” said Mr O’Sullivan.

“We have all had to question and review how we operate, how we serve our readers, and how we fund our journalism.”

Davy Stockbrokers media analyst, John Stokes, said while it will be interesting to monitor the progress of the subscription model — the first adopted by an Irish national daily — it may result in traffic gains for competitors in the short-term.

Articles accessed via search engines or social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook will not count towards a reader’s quota and will remain free of charge.

Users of the Irish Times’s mobile app will also be able to swipe through articles where a preview — which will not count towards their weekly quota unless an option to read in full is taken —will be visible.

Two further packages combining digital access and home delivery of the print version will also be available to readers.

The complete print and digital package will cost €50 per month while the weekend-only version carries a €20 price-tag.

Plans to introduce a paywall were previously announced last October but details of the subscription service were unavailable until yesterday.

The “leaky paywall” structure mirrors that of the Financial Times and The Daily Telegraph in the UK, among others.