UK’s Telegraph says no decision on paywall

The 155-year-old UK's The Telegraph newspaper yesterday said that it has made no decision on whether to charge for digital content, after the Financial Times reported that the paper is planning to erect a paywall next year.

''Absolutely no decisions have been made on the introduction of a paid-content model,'' the London-based The Telegraph said in a statement. Like its peers, The Telegraph ''continually evaluates the developments in the digital sector,'' it added.

The Financial Times yesterday reported that the Telegraph Media Group, which has previously been a supporter of free news content online, is drawing up plans to charge for some online news content next year.

Quoting a person familiar with the The Telegraph's strategy, the paper said, ''The final decision has not been made, but it will not be an impregnable paywall like the Times. It will be a metered system or, less likely, micropayments.''

The paper went on to say that The Telegraph's model will be similar to its own model and the upcoming approach the New York Times paywall, where some articles can be read before charging readers.

In his fight to end the era of free online content, media baron Rupert Murdoch in July 2010 put up a paywall around the Times of London, Sunday Times and News of the World sites (See: Rupert Murdoch's Times goes behind paywall) after having found success with his two financial dailies, The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.