The Times

What The Times does

The Times, founded in 1785 by John Walter and published by Times Media Limited in London, is one of the UK's oldest and most recognized daily newspapers, paired with The Sunday Times (established 1822) under unified ownership. The Times and The Sunday Times operate a horizontally segmented news product covering UK and world politics, business, sport, culture, lifestyle, opinion, and puzzles, serving general news consumers in the United Kingdom and, more recently, US readers via a dedicated US Edition.

The underlying product architecture is a digital news platform built around subscription-gated web and mobile access, supplemented by an e-paper replica app, a Times+ membership program, Times Radio digital broadcasting, a portfolio of Times Podcasts, and the Times Crossword Club premium puzzle subscription. Adjacent magazine publications — Times Magazine, Sunday Times Magazine, Culture Magazine, Style Magazine, and LUXX Magazine — extend editorial reach, while Times Travel and Times Bookshop provide transactional channels. Core technology consists of a multi-site publishing stack (thetimes.com, epaper.thetimes.com, globalstore.thetimes.com, timesradio.com) with cross-platform access and multimedia (video, audio) output.

The business model is subscription-led, with the primary revenue stream being recurring digital subscriptions promoted via a freemium $1-per-month for 12 months flash-sale trial. Ancillary revenue is generated through advertising (handled via News UK Advertising), premium membership benefits, and partner commerce in travel and books. The publication is a privately held UK subsidiary of News Corp, controlled by the Murdoch family, and operates as part of News Corp's News UK division alongside other UK newspaper and publishing assets.

Name

The Times

Legal name

Times Media Limited

Website

https://thetimes.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1785

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The Times is a UK newspaper and media publisher, founded in 1785, operating The Times and The Sunday Times as subscription-gated digital and print editions serving general news consumers across UK and US markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

National & General-Interest Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Rolling News & Breaking News Channels (MPABAIAH), Long-Form Writing & Article Platforms (MPACAIAC), Politics, Current Affairs & Social Commentary Publishing (MPAJAAAM)

Keywords

• Digital news
• National newspaper
• Subscription journalism
• News media
• Audio broadcasting

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: The Times generates revenue primarily through digital subscription payments. The website promotes a '$1 a month for 12 months' flash sale trial offer. Subscribers gain access to digital news content, e-paper editions, and exclusive member benefits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

The Times and The Sunday Times provide daily and Sunday national newspaper journalism across UK and world news, politics, business, sport, culture, and lifestyle, distributed through paid digital and print subscriptions. The core offering is complemented by a digital e-paper replica, Times Radio, on-demand podcasts, weekly lifestyle magazines (Style, Culture, LUXX, The Times Magazine, The Sunday Times Magazine), the Times+ membership program, the Times Crossword Club premium puzzle subscription, Times Travel holiday booking, and the Times Bookshop online bookstore.

Product overview

The Times and The Sunday Times operate as a unified news media platform offering both daily and Sunday national newspapers alongside an extensive digital product portfolio. The core offering consists of The Times (weekday) and The Sunday Times (Sunday) newspapers providing news, politics, business, sport, culture, and commentary. The digital ecosystem includes The Times e-paper for digital replica access, Times+ membership program, Times Radio audio broadcasting, and Times Podcasts on-demand audio content. The publication also produces multiple magazine titles including The Times Magazine, The Sunday Times Magazine, Culture Magazine, Style Magazine, and LUXX Magazine (luxury). Additional services encompass Times Crossword Club (premium puzzles), Times Bookshop (e-commerce), and Times Travel (holiday booking). The product architecture combines a subscription-based digital platform with premium magazine publications and membership programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Times+: Subscription membership program offering exclusive content and events
• LUXX
• Times Radio
• Times Literary Supplement (TLS)

Products and services

• The Times & The Sunday Times Flagship daily and Sunday newspaper offering national and international news, opinion, investigation, and analysis across digital and print formats for individual subscribers and news readers.
• The Times e-paper Digital replica of the print edition accessible via the epaper.thetimes.com app, allowing subscribers to read the full newspaper digitally.
• Times+ Subscription membership program offering exclusive content, events, and benefits for registered subscribers of The Times.
• Times Radio Digital radio station and audio content service delivering news, analysis, and talk programming for Times subscribers and listeners.
• Times Podcasts Collection of audio podcast series covering news, politics, business, and cultural topics available on demand.
• Times Crossword Club Premium puzzle subscription service offering exclusive crosswords, sudokus, and other word and number puzzles to Times subscribers.
• The Times Magazine Weekly magazine supplement featuring long-form journalism, interviews, and lifestyle content.
• The Sunday Times Magazine Weekly Sunday magazine featuring investigative features, profiles, and cultural commentary.
• Culture Magazine Dedicated arts and culture magazine covering film, music, theatre, books, and art.
• Style Magazine Fashion and lifestyle magazine featuring fashion coverage, beauty, and style guides.
• LUXX Magazine Premium luxury lifestyle magazine covering high-end fashion, travel, and exclusive experiences.
• Times Bookshop Online bookstore offering books by Times authors and recommended reading.
• Times Travel Holiday booking and travel inspiration service including cruises and travel deals for Times subscribers.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• News CorpcoreOthersThe Times is owned by Times Media Limited, which is part of News Corp, a global media conglomerate. News Corp also owns other major publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Sun, The Australian, Barron's, and the Times Literary Supplement.
• News UK AdvertisingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNews UK Advertising handles classified advertising, announcements, and advertising & partnerships for The Times and The Sunday Times through newsukadvertising.co.uk.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Financial Times: Subscription-based international news brand with strong business, finance, and political coverage. Comparable in its premium paywall model and high-ARPU subscriber base.
• The Independent: UK national digital news outlet covering politics, world, and lifestyle. Competes for the same UK general-news audience despite a different operating model.
• The Guardian: Major UK national newspaper with a large digital readership and a hybrid ad + reader-revenue model. Directly competes with The Times for UK general news consumers and political/business coverage.
• The Daily Mail / Mail+: UK national newspaper with a large digital subscriber base via Mail+ and very high UK reach. Competes directly with The Times for general UK news and lifestyle audiences.
• The Daily Telegraph: UK broadsheet national newspaper with a paid digital subscription model covering UK politics, world news, and business. Closest premium-paywall comparator to The Times in the UK market.
• The Sun: Sister tabloid brand also under News UK/News Corp, with the largest UK newspaper readership. Operates alongside The Times within the same corporate division and shares advertising infrastructure.
• The New York Times: Global benchmark for the digital subscription newspaper model, with bundles (News, Cooking, Games, Wirecutter, Athletic). Closest functional analogue for recurring-revenue news economics.
• The Wall Street Journal: Sister brand under News Corp, paid digital subscription model focused on business and US news. Operates under the same parent as The Times with shared corporate infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• Bloomberg: Global subscription-based business and financial news brand. Overlaps with The Times' business coverage audience and competes for premium business-news subscribers.
• BBC News: UK public-service broadcaster with the largest UK news footprint and free access funded by the licence fee. Sets the price benchmark for UK news and competes for audience attention.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/timesofthetimes
• Instagraminstagram.com/thetimes
• Facebookfacebook.com/timesandsundaytimes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-times

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Times