This week saw the launch of the new-look Times and Sunday Times websites. This marks the first time that the newspaper brands have had separate sites.
They will be accessible for registered users for an introductory four-week period before the paywall comes into effect. Access to the digital service will be included in the seven-day subscriptions of print customers, however, in a month’s time will cost non-subscribers £1 a day or £2 per week.
Search engines will not be able to display articles as the sites will only display their respective homepages to search engines.
News International has not disclosed specific subscriber targets, though it is undoubtedly prepared for a major drop in user numbers of its websites.

Those that choose to enjoy the new-improved sites can make their payment by direct debit and the £2-a-week charge will auto-renew, which is not the case for the daily charge.

I think they’ve done a great job and that the sign looks great- but is it great enough for £104 a year?

Do Wenlock and Mandeville get you excited about Sport?
This week saw London 2012 launch their Mascots Wenlock and Mandeville.
The two Mascots, Wenlock for the Olympics and Mandeville for the Paralympics, represent two drops of molten steel spilt in the making of the last steel girder used in the Olympic Stadium. In the animated video which accompanies the mascots and will form part of a series, a grandfather, George, picks up the two drops of steel on his last day at the Bolton foundry before he retires. Once home, he fashions the steel into the two figures and gives them to his grandchildren. Brought to life by a rainbow, they turn somersaults for the children before disappearing off on the road to London.
Their design is full of symbology including a headlight to represent the light of a black cab, the five Olympic rings worn as wristbands, their one eye as a camera lense and the colours gold, silver and bronze to reflect the medals. Their names are also meaningfully chosen. Much Wenlock in Shropshire is considered by many as the birthplace of the modern Olympics and Stoke Mandeville’s famous spinal injuries unit was where the Paralympic movement began.
The designs are also flexible, and the charcters can be customised into recognisable costumes and even celebrity identities. The characters also have digital potential and will tweet, have a presence on facebook and tap into the London Education Project where pupils will be able to lobby for them to visit their school in person.
It’s clear that a lot of thought and hard work went into the development of the mascots, however, they have met with much criticism over the last week from the press and the public.
Their task, however, is to resonate with children and inspire a generation to get involved in sport. They are also intended to persuade parents to contribute the £15 million the mascots are expected to raise in merchandising revenue. With merchandise going on sale in July to mark two years to the London 2012 opening ceremony- perhaps this will be the first indication of whether or not the design is a success?

If you were- you were among the nearly 10 million viewers who tuned into BBC One, ITV1, Sky News and Channel 4 between 10pm- 12am on 6th May. So, who chose to watch it where? According to recent figures, BBC One drew in the largest number of viewers with an average of 5.3m tuning in between 10pm-12am. This equates to nearly 29% share of audience. Channel Four had an average of 1.9m viewers in the same time period beating both Sky and ITV1. Their satirical take on the results called ‘Channel 4’s Alternative Election’ hosted by Jimmy Carr and David Mitchell was most popular with a younger demographic and drew in the highest proportion of 16-34s. ITV1 had an average of 1.7m viewers and Sky followed with an average of 550,000.

Attracting the audience:

A number of media owners staged experiential stunts in a bid to court viewers.
The BBC projected graphics onto Big Ben and Sky Broadcast onto Battersea Power Station. The Daily Mirror projected an image of The Mirror Chicken onto the Houses of parliament, while Channel 4 teamed up with Embrace media to use a 425,000 square foot helicopter banner to promote their ‘Alternative Election’ show.