The Telegraph signed up more than 15,300 paying subscribers in August, the equivalent of nearly 500 each day on average.
Press Gazette understands the figure is by some way the highest achieved by the newsbrand since it started charging for access to content.
It set up a metered paywall in 2013 but moved to a “premium content” model in 2016, putting select articles out of reach to non-subscribers.
The Telegraph’s politics channel generated more than 2,000 subscriptions in August, the highest of any other channel, with 1,000 sign-ups from sport and 750 from general news, it is understood.
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A large number of the Telegraph’s political news and opinion pieces are behind its paywall.
Subscriptions generated via social media and Google search also climbed significantly year-on-year in August, it is understood, with the latter accounting for more than 5,000 sign-ups for the month.
The Telegraph has kept its total number of paying subscribers a closely guarded secret, but Nick Hugh, chief executive of Telegraph Media Group, has set a target of 1m paying subscribers by the end of 2023.
Subscribers pay from £2 per week for access to premium content.
In August last year Hugh announced that the Telegraph had reached its target of 3m registered users four months ahead of schedule. Registered users sign up with an email in exchange for free access to one premium article a week.
In line with our vision @Telegraph today we hit our 2018 target of 3 million registrations, 4 months ahead of schedule!
We owe this incredible milestone to our continuously outstanding journalism and the hard work and dedication of everybody here. A truly fantastic achievement. pic.twitter.com/6wHNR3GZhh
— Nick Hugh (@nickhugh75) August 31, 2018
But the Telegraph does not authenticate registered users’ email addresses with a follow-up confirmation, according to Buzzfeed News, raising questions about how many of them are legitimate readers.
Last month the Telegraph redesigned its website homepage, drawing comparisons with the New York Times.
In 2017, the latest full-year accounts available, Telegraph Media Group’s revenues fell by £17.5m to £285.7m, which it put down to “evolving consumer habits”, and pre-tax profits nearly halved to £13.7m.
Picture: Eddie Mulholland/Telegraph
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