The UK’s biggest-selling regional daily has launched a paywall on part of its website as it aims to add value and boost circulation.
Wolverhampton-based daily the Express & Star started its new digital service Express & Star 24 yesterday.
Breaking news will continue to be available free of charge but other content such as photo galleries, match analysis and traffic and travel will be paywall-protected.
The paper is offering a print, online and smartphone package for £2.34 a week, which include delivery of the newspaper as well as access to the paywall-protected parts of the website.
Because the digital-only package is liable to VAT, this will cost £2.81 – meaning it is cheaper to access the paywall if you get the newspaper delivered as well.
The move was revealed by deputy editor Keith Harrison at a conference in London last month when he said the package would be created in an attempt to add value for readers and increase circulation.
On the paper’s website, it says: “News travels fast – and we want to bring it to you as it happens, in more ways than ever before.
“That’s why we’ve launched Express & Star 24, combining a state-of-the-art service for digital readers with our market-leading print editions. We’re giving you more now, than ever before.”
It says those who sign up will benefit from access to the premium part of the website which will be updated with hundreds of stories a day, new smartphone, iPhone and iPad apps, opinion pieces from their top writers and being able to view the paper online with PageSuite technology.
The paywall has also been introduced at sister paper the Shropshire Star, with the same pricing structure.
If the move is successful, it is likely to be rolled out to other Midlands News Association titles.
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Good luck to you. You’re not quite the Times, but you obviously have a loyal readership. I asked myself when the Times went paywall, could I do without it? Would my life be so much poorer if I refused to cough up for what I used to enjoy for free? As I haven’t looked at the website since it went pay-per-view and I haven’t died yet, it proves I don’t need it. I predict similar things with this idea. And anyhow, there’s a million ways to get the news you want now without paying for it. Good old, forward-thinking regional press.
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I can’t for the life of me see the point of putting traffic and travel behind a paywall. This information is freely available elsewhere and is hardly bespoke content from the Express and Star.
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Anyone else noticed that to get the “24” experience without having the papers delivered is actually nearly 50p per week more expensive than getting the digital edition plus six editions through your door? (£2.34 a week for six papers plus digital, £2.81 per week for digital alone). Why would you want to read the paper twice anyway – yet pay more for the “privilege” of reading it online only? It’s all about those ABCs…
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@Aye Aye: I think Helen Lambourne of HTFP spotted that too. That’s why she pointed it out and explained that it’s down to the taxman. D’oh! I think you’re right about the ABCs tho. If I’ve read it right, their regular readers are getting something extra f
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Good luck. Hope this proves to be profitable.
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Not sure if it will work but good luck to them for trying. It will be interesting to see if people are prepared to pay for digital regional newspaper content or not and unlike the earlier Johnston press trial at least they realise the importance of it being extra material to their existing content and their website looks a hundred times tidier than the JP ones.
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