And lo it has come to pass as Guido predicted. Back in June (“The Times’ Paywall of Death”) this blog offered a wager that within 12 months no Times political columnist will have more measurable readers online than Guido. We now have authoritative confirmation of the prediction having come true.

According to industry analysts Experian Hitwise their research suggests that approximately 54,000 people access The Times, with as few as 28,000 being paying customers. On Monday this blog served 75,233 pages, the average weekday readership is circa 60,000.

Last week The Times revealed snidely that Guido has paying advertisers. Have a look at The Times front-page online today (you can see it for free) and you will see not one single paying advertisement. It is no longer a commercial proposition. Print advertising is in long term decline, online advertising is growing at some 10% per annum. This blog has been more profitable than Times Online for years, now it also has more readers and more advertisers. Murdoch is making a strategic error on a grand scale…