Telegraph Media Group 'reaping rewards' of metered paywall with operating profit up to £60m, according to reports
The Telegraph Media Group made over £60m last year, marking the third year in a row the company has increased its operating profit, according to reports.
Reports: TMG is expected to announce further operating profits
Roy Greenslade revealed the figure in his Guardian media blog and said TMG is expected to formally announce results in the spring when it files its 2013 accounts with Companies House.
Greenslade wrote: “So the publisher of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, which is ultimately owned by Sirs David and Frederick Barclay, continues to defy the newspaper publishing sector’s downward market trend.
“Rival titles, such as The Times, The Independent and The Guardian, have been recording losses for several years. In 2012, TMG made £58.4m, and in 2011 its profit was £55.7m.”
The Telegraph introduced an international metered paywall in November 2012 and later implemented the feature for UK readers in March 2013. The result has been a boost in subscriptions, and according to Greenslade, an inside source at TMG said the group had “reaped rewards” from using the metered paywall system.
This week, the Herald & Times Group, part of the Newsquest stable, announced that its online subscribers had overtaken print subscribers for the first time on its HeraldScotland website. HeraldScotland also uses a metered paywall.