In a positive result, News Limited's The Australian has gained 40,000 digital subscribers since the launch of its paywall in October last year.
On top of 30,000 new paying subscribers, 10,000 existing print subscribers that have taken up a complimentary 12 month digital subscription, giving The Australian a total of 40,000 digital subscribers.
The Australian chief operating officer John Allen said the number of people who have taken up the subscription offer after the three-month trial pass had exceeded expectations. “Clearly we are still in very early days, and we are learning every day, but this is an extremely encouraging start.
“This isn’t just about the headline number though. All our metrics are heading in the right direction. Critically, with print circulation remaining steady, we are growing overall paid sales of The Australian and we are earning more digital revenue under the new subscription model than we were under the advertising-only model.”
The Australian’s editor-in-chief Chris Mitchell said: “If it were ever needed, this is more proof of how valued The Australian’s journalism is by its readers. In digital, just as in print, The Australian is peerless in its news breaking, analysis and opinion.”
MEC chief innovation officer Pete Grenfell said the results are a good start but acknowledged they have been spiked by those loyal to the brand: "It's a solid start for The Australian, but the big question is how long can they sustain this rate of growth? This take up is probably from loyalists and advocates of the brand and the chances are this is probably going to drop off. This is not a criticism, its a reality.
"They do have an advantage that they are the only national newspaper in Australia and they have a unique and loyal fan base to sustain and grow the current base, but they have to continue to offer a quality and uniqueness of content that makes it worth paying for.”
The Australian’s website includes a mix of premium subscription and free content.
The latest Audit Bureau of Circulation results for the year to December 2011 showed the paper had a Monday to Friday circulation figure of 133,701 and a weekend figure of 295,000.
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