That was quick, Torstar Corp.’s President and CEO David Holland told analysts during a conference call today the company plans to end the paywall they announced last year and has only been in place since August 2013. As part of the new play Torstar will be partnering with La Presse to create a free tablet edition for the Toronto Star as print advertising revenue continues to suffer, and they will be a free / ad-driven model.
Toronto Star’s new tablet edition is not expected to launch until the fall of 2015, and it will use existing technology from La Presse. Torstar will also invest $1-million to $2-million in the fourth quarter this year, and $10-million to $12-million in 2015 to create the new product.
During the call, John Cruickshank, Publisher of the Toronto Star added the decision to eliminate the paywall was not due to revenue problems but rather a realization that the lack of crossover is growing between print newspapers and their digital counter parts.
You have to wonder if other Canadian newspapers will follow in the same path, or is there still a future for print newspapers?
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