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Daily hails growing number of corporate subscribers to website

David WalshA regional daily says a growing number of businesses are taking out corporate subscriptions which allow their staff free access to the newspaper’s website.

Sheffield daily The Star introduced corporate subscription packages in November, an initiative which has since been introduced at other JPIMedia dailies which operate online paywalls.

The subscriptions allow between two and 30,000 people to log on to the site for a discounted price, which is worked out on a sliding scale depending on the package.

The Star last week highlighted its newest corporate subscriber, Hall Brown Family Law.

Alison Fernandes, from the firm, told the paper: “It’s not only great for keeping in touch with the area’s business community but great for keeping up to date on issues affecting the wider South Yorkshire community.

“Family law is essentially a people business. We need to keep up-to-date with the issues affecting people who, like everyone in the Hall Brown office, is either from Sheffield or lives in the surrounding area.

“All of that is reflected in the pages of The Star. Its coverage is perhaps more important than ever in these difficult times because lockdown means that we can’t get out and about as much as we might usually do.”

Speaking to HTFP, Star business editor David Walsh said: “The Star’s corporate subscriptions are a new way for firms to support us, especially during lockdown when shops are closed.

“They are popular with a growing number of bosses who want to support the essential work we do, such as publishing the latest Covid figures, and because we offer trusted news when so much on the internet is fake. It’s also a nice way to thank staff with a little perk.

“TheStar.co.uk is popular with workers who come back several times a day, during breaks and at lunch, for its regularly refreshed content.

“We can sell between two and 30,000 licences and subscribers get unlimited access to a faster-loading, ad-lite website. They can also download that day’s newspaper in a page-turning app which includes the all-important letters page.”