The Times newspaper's website has reported a loss of 66 per cent of its readership following the introduction of a paywall. However, the loss is not as heavy as predicted by the media industry experts.

According to figures from the internet traffic monitor Experian Hitwise, visits to the Times website tumbled to 33 per cent in the week following the implementation of the paywall on July 2nd.

Media industry experts had predicted a loss of around 90 per cent in its traffic. It is possible that the lower than expected loss could be the result of an introductory offer to customers.

Moreover, Murdoch's biographer Michael Wolff said that his contacts with the Times told him that nobody was subscribing to the Times paywall.

Commenting on the topic, he said, “My sources say that not only is nobody subscribing to the website, but subscribers to the paper itself -who have free access to the site -are not going beyond the registration page. The website is an empty world."

The Times’ owner Rupert Murdoch had declared last year that they would install a paywall around the Times and its sister paper, the Sunday Times. The announcement was a surprise as many media industry experts were of the view that newspapers should draw a mass audience with free news that would finally fetch strong advertising revenues.