Finance

Finance

The Times increases price to Â£1

08 January 2010 15:20 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA-Economics. The Times is to increase its cover price to Â£1, bringing it into line with the pricing of the Daily Telegraph, Independent and Guardian for the first time in more than 20 years, the Guardian reported.

The price rise, which will take effect from Monday, will apply to the Monday to Friday editions.

According to Roy Greenslade, a media commentator and blogger for MediaGuardian.co.uk, it is the first time in 20 years that all four titles have been priced the same. The last time the Times cost the same as its rivals is thought to have been in the early 1990s, just before it launched a price war.

The rise highlights the significant issue faced by the Timesâ€™s parent company, News International, which also owns the Sun and the News of the World, in maintaining revenue as advertising declines. Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, has promised to introduce paywalls for online access to the companyâ€™s newspaper content later this year.

The Times last increased its weekday cover price a year ago, to 90p. The Guardian â€“ which, like MediaGuardian.co.uk, is published by Guardian Media Group â€“ increased its cover price to Â£1 last September.