The number of people willing to pay to read the Times and Sunday Times newspapers online has surpassed 100,000, according to owner News International.

The announcement that 101,036 subscribers have not been perturbed by its paywall policy comes a year after the papers abandoned the free news model pursued by the vast majority of its rivals.

The figure is a claimed 28 per cent upturn since February. The announcement said 35,000 and 31,000 users download the Times and Sunday Times respectively on their iPads.

Chief executive Rebekah Brooks said: “One year on from launch we have proved that people are willing to pay for quality journalism in digital formats.

“Many doubted if our digital strategy would be successful, here is unequivocal proof it is moving in that direction.

“We have more committed subscribers than ever before and they are choosing to access our journalism in whatever format suits them best.

“The growth rate for take up on tablets is moving at pace and we believe this valuable and attractive audience accessing our digital products will continue to grow.”

The combined print/digital subscription figure between the two papers is now 250,000.

Free news flag-bearer the Guardian said the uptake on the Times‘ digital subscriptions had slowed. It said 50,000 subscribed in the four months after the paywall’s implementation, compared to 21,000 in the past four months and 29,000 between October 2010 and February 2011.

(Source: Press Gazette)

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