Reach has hit 50,000 paying digital subscribers across 19 brands in just under nine months.
The publisher’s first paywall offering paid premium content and fewer adverts went live in late November on the Manchester Evening News.
Since then a similar premium strategy has launched on 13 other regional news websites: the Liverpool Echo, Wales Online, Leicestershire Live, Birmingham Live, Chronicle Live (in Newcastle), Yorkshire Live, Belfast Live, Bristol Live, Nottingham Post, The Sentinel (in Stoke), Hull Live, Coventry Live and Teesside Live.
The MEN and Wales Online have both recently passed the 6,000 paying subscriber mark while the sites in Birmingham, Hull (which launched less than a month ago on 21 July) and Coventry have all just hit 1,000. Subscriber numbers have not been published for other brands.
All of Reach’s national brands now also have a digital subscription offering: the Daily Record, the Express, the Daily Star, the Mirror and the Irish Mirror.
Reach has set a target of reaching 75,000 paying digital subscribers across its portfolio by the end of the year.
On the websites with subscriptions, much of the content including public interest and breaking news journalism remains free but certain articles are subscriber-only. Paying subscribers see fewer adverts and can access partner offers.
Most titles are priced at £4.99 per month but some are higher, such as Express Premium on £6.99, and others are lower, like Mirror+ on £3.99.
Some also have different branding, for example Gold Star on the Daily Star.
Reach chief executive Piers North said: “Reaching 50,000 paid digital subscribers is a testament to the hard work of our teams and the wide appeal and value of our content, and this is in addition to a base of over 65,000 print, e-edition and paid newsletter subscribers.
“This marks a key milestone on our road to building reliable and recurring revenue streams, with a target of 75,000 by the end of year and more into 2027.
“We’ll be keeping up the pace as we deepen the relationship with our audiences, finesse the offering and learn more about our communities along the way.”
North told Press Gazette last month there is still “a lot of work to do on the technology, on the features, the promotions, the offerings that we give out to our subscribers”.
The next titles to add subscriptions in the next few weeks will be Glasgow Live, Edinburgh Live and North Wales Live.
The premium paywalls are part of Reach’s strategy of moving away from clicks and volume towards original content and stronger connections with its audience.
It is seeking to future proof as its Google referral traffic fell by 55% in the first half of this year compared to 2025, contributing to an overall website audience decline of 40%.
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