News International is taking the subscriptions route in order to sell more copies of The Times and the Sunday Times.
It announced today that readers can take advantage of two new subscription packages, one offering a seven-day deal with a 20% discount on the two titles (£5.50 compared to the usual £6.90) or a Sunday-Times-only offer with a 10% saving (£1.80 rather than £2). Both deals offer flexible payments, a five-week holiday and exclusive rewards through the quarterly Times Plus brochure.
Times Media's sales and marketing director, Katie Vanneck, points to the link between the discounted subs deals and the introduction of a free home delivery service within the M25.
Readers who take up the offer will receive vouchers, which give them the choice of exchanging them at different retail points, or they can arrange delivery through their local newsagent.
In a sense, it's a back-handed compliment to the Telegraph group, which has persevered with its subscription deals over many years. Last month, 326,214 copies of the Daily Telegraph's daily average UK sale of 802,552 were sold by discounted subscription while an even greater proportion of the Sunday Telegraph were subscription sales, 321,518 of the 584,135 total.
By comparison, The Times already sells 102,838 subscription copies of its 577,950 UK total and the Sunday Times sells 103,749 by subscription of its 899,316 UK total.
So Rupert Murdoch's strategy is clear: subscriptions are the way ahead.
