Times editor defends digital subscription figures
James Harding claims the increase of subscribers since the newspaper introduced a digital paywall has offset the loss of print customers.
We reported yesterday that The Times had boosted digital subscribers to 79,000, a welcome figure having lost over 50,000 in print circulation in the past year.
James Harding told Radio 4's The Media Show that the digital growth was a positive factor in the wake of "dispiriting" print sales.
He said the paper's parent company, News International, had reported "the most conservative numbers", implying that the total may be greater than 50,000.
Harding added that 97% of digital subscribers had signed up again since first logging on, but did not answer questions on how the paper would offset the losses of print sales - which are still more lucrative than digital subscriptions.
In total there were 29,000 new digital subscribers recorded over the past five months. The Times print circulation has fallen 12.1% over the past year, measuring 425,627 in February.