Nearly half of FT’s readers are digital

Nearly half of the Financial Times‘ readers receive their content via digital methods, report Jennifer Saba and Yinka Adegoke.

Saba and Adegoke write, “The FT has 285,000 digital subscribers, nearly half of its total readership. Grimshaw expects the FT will derive 50 percent of its revenue from digital in the next three to four years.

“The FT is closely watched by other newspapers that are considering charging for online content. The industry is facing unprecedented challenges as advertisers choose to spend elsewhere and readers ditch paid print product in favor of free online news.

“Newspapers’ advertising revenue has dropped more than 50 percent in five years, wiping out more than $20 billion in revenue, Grimshaw noted, citing figures from the Newspaper Association of America.

“‘What that will result in is a lot of newspapers going under,’ he said.”

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