Telegraph readers express concern over Abu Dhabi-backed fund

Daily Telegraph readers express concern over the prospect of an Abu Dhabi-backed fund buying the paper

  • READ MORE: Whitehall could delay bid to regain control of Telegraph titles

Readers of the Daily Telegraph have expressed concern at the prospect of it being taken over by an Abu Dhabi-backed fund.

More than half of the newspaper’s subscribers threatened to abandon it if the new owners did not share their values. 

An opinion poll found that 52 per cent said it would ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ affect their likelihood to renew their subscriptions.

They were ‘highly concerned’ about who owned the title, said polling firm Stack Data Strategy which commissioned YouGov to conduct the poll of 500 readers and subscribers.

When asked their views on reports about Gulf links, 69 per cent of subscribers and 64 per cent of readers said they would be ‘a bit less likely’ or ‘much less likely’ to continue their subscription or continue reading.

More than half of the newspaper’s subscribers threatened to abandon it if the new owners did not share their values

In contrast, only 4 per cent of both groups said it would make them more likely to read the titles, while 27 per cent of subscribers and 32 per cent of readers said it would make no difference.

Readers reacted even more strongly when reports about censorship of the media were highlighted.

Over three quarters (76 per cent) of subscribers and readers said they were less likely to continue to read or subscribe.

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