Looking to boost revenue from its digital news readership, Reuters is following major rivals in adopting a paywall strategy for its website, reuters. The company will charge $34.99 per month for access to the site’s content, allowing non-subscribers to view up to five articles per month for free.
Reuters’ move, announced Thursday, brings it in line with other big financial and business news publishers that charge a premium for their coverage. Access to Bloomberg costs $34.99 per month (after a three-month promo offer for $2/month) and the Wall Street Journal charges $38.99 (after a one-year offer for $4/month).
Reuters didn’t say when it will flip the switch on restricted paywall access. A rep told PvNew, “We’ll be sharing more information in the coming weeks.”
Josh London, CMO of Reuters and head of Reuters Professional, said in a statement that the change is “the largest digital transformation at Reuters in a decade.”
The new subscription-based reuters site will feature: a live feed of global news, headlines, multimedia and investigations accompanied by visuals and graphics; a dashboard-style view with “hand-picked quotes,” data points, graphics and soundbites; live streams of Reuters events; and a customizable mobile experience on the Reuters News App.
Reuters subscribers also will have exclusive access to new industry verticals, which will be rolling out “in the coming weeks,” the company said. Those will include legal news, sustainable business, energy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, environment, autos and transportation. In addition, Reuters plans to launch subscriber-only newsletters about the auto industry and the energy sector, with other market verticals in the future.
Earlier this week, Reuters announced that Alessandra Galloni, previously global editor, will be the news service’s next editor in chief — the first woman EIC in Reuters’ 170-year history. She takes over from Steve Adler, who is retiring at the end of April after 10 years at the editorial helm. Reuters employs some 2,500 journalists in 200 countries.
Currently, about half of Reuters’ revenue is generated from financial data provider Refinitiv, which is owned by the London Stock Exchange Group. Thomson Reuters in 2018 sold a majority stake in Refinitiv to Blackstone Group, in a deal that valued it at $20 billion. Refinitiv was then sold to the London Stock Exchange for $27 billion in stock.
