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Reuters introduces paywall for digital content

Thursday 17 October 2024

Reuters is introducing a paywall for its website and mobile apps, three years after a dispute with its biggest client scuppered a previous plan to charge for digital content.

In a message to registered online users, Reuters president Paul Bascobert said that although some content would still be free for occasional users, those wanting unlimited access would have to pay £1 a week or an annual subscription of £40 ($52).

He promised that this would bring “broader coverage, deeper investigations, more innovative products.”

A previous attempt to introduce a paywall at a much higher cost of $34.99 a month was shelved soon after being announced in 2021 when Reuters biggest client, financial data provider LSEG, threatened legal action, saying it breached their news supply agreement.  

LSEG provides about half of Reuters revenue under an agreement which guarantees the agency at least $336 million a year until 2048.

Bascobert’s predecessor Michael Friedenberg lost his job in 2021 after the dispute with LSEG. 

A Reuters story on Bascobert’s announcement said no details had been released on whether the dispute was resolved but sources with knowledge of the matter told The Baron that there would no longer be a problem with LSEG.

“It has been settled,” one source said, adding that the plan could not have gone ahead without an agreement with LSEG.

The sources said that apart from the lower cost,  the new plan to charge for digital content differed from the 2021 version, but they could not give details.

The online retail product on Reuters.com is inadequate for high-paying commercial clients by design, with much less breaking news and none of the data or breaking alerts needed by financial professionals trading bonds, foreign exchange, commodities or equities, insiders say.

While the low price is presumably intended to mitigate a loss of viewership, some critics of the new scheme said it suggested Reuters did not have much faith in its online offering, which is a sixth of the subscription to Bloomberg.com, its biggest rival. Others predicted a substantial loss of influence and reach because of the paywall, particularly in developing countries. 

Many major news organisations now charge a subscription for digital content. CNN recently announced a paywall of $3.99 a month.

In his message to existing online subscribers Bascobert said Reuters.com aimed to be “fast, direct and unfiltered.”  He added: “We don’t do opinions …We want you to make up your own mind.”

He stressed the value of Reuters commitment to truth and objective reporting in an age of misinformation and unreliable news sources.

Reuters said the news subscriptions would roll out gradually around the globe, beginning with Canada. It gave no precise dates.