Reuters website to go behind paywall

NEW YORK — Reuters News said on Thursday it will start charging for access to its website as part of a new digital subscription strategy designed to attract business professionals.

The agency, one of the largest news organisations in the world, said a subscription to Reuters.com would cost $34.99 a month, the same as financial news competitor Bloomberg.

The website will remain free for a period but will require users to register after clicking on five stories, Reuters said in an article about the paywall on its site.

The report did not say when the charges will start. The website will receive a face lift, with subscribers gaining access to content not available to readers using the site for free.

Reuters chief marketing officer, Josh London, described the move as "the largest digital transformation at Reuters in a decade".

The announcement sees Thomson Reuters-owned news division become the latest news organisation to charge for online content.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to launch a paywall, back in 1996. Most major US publications have since followed suit, including The New York Times.

Around half of Reuters' revenues come from Refinitiv, a financial and market data firm it sold to private equity group Blackstone in 2018.

Refinitiv entered into a 30-year contract with Reuters, paying around $325 million a year for its content.