The battle for papers to secure a proper revenue stream from their online content with The Times and Sunday Times planning to charge for access to their online content. The subcription method has been tried by The Irish Times tried the same thing in 2002.

The Irish Times switched back to providing free content again in 2008. Now, they charge for archived material. Anything a month old or more is only accessible after buying a subscription.

The uncertainty around the future of newspapers is largely due to the fact that a stable online business model cannot be found. The advertising revenue from online is too little to replace the print advertising. With print advertising dwindling, the pressure is on large news corporations to start making money from internet editions of their papers.