Australian Financial Review deal with Financial Times; 20,000 online subscribers

AFR editor-in-chief Michael Stutchbury. IMAGE: News Limited/James Croucher

THE Australian Financial Review has made a content partnership deal with the UK-based Financial Times as its paid online subscribers hit 20,000.

Syndicated Financial Times content ran in the paper for the first time yesterday and will encompass up to two pages daily.

“To properly inform our readers, the FT tie-up is an important addition to our existing source of quality global business, finance and political writing which already includes The Economist, The New York Times and the Harvard Business Review,” said AFR editor-in-chief, Michael Stutchbury.

“This of course comes on top of our own network of foreign correspondents in the US, China and Europe.”

Online subscription is up 144 per cent since last December when the AFR cut the subscriber access rates to its website. Growth has also been aided by the launch of the AFR iPad app in May which has been downloaded 42,000 times.

“Engagement with our iPad app has been exceptional and is already generating millions of page views each month, just weeks after launch,” said Mr Stutchbury.

“Our online subscriber numbers are ahead of expectations and we have recently launched a corporate rate card for digital subscriptions in response to organisations wishing to provide Financial Review content across their executive suite.”