LSE lays foundations for RNS paywall

The London Stock Exchange will this week begin moving its RNS newswire behind a registration wall, with Bloomberg clients being warned yesterday they had 36 hours to comply or lose real-time access.

From Friday 1 February, Bloomberg users will have to register their details with the LSE, or face a one hour delay on market sensitive data, according to a report on the FT Alphaville blog.

The change follows discretionary manager outrage last year after the LSE moved to a hardline position on royalties, insisting on payment by anyone who references widely quotes indices such as the FTSE 100.

While stock market announcements have been officially open to competition for more than 10 years, RNS in effect remains the monopoly provider of announcements by UK public companies.

The LSE reportedly opened a consultation on its options for providing access to RNS last year. Both Bloomberg and Reuters have now agreed to allow the LSE to mine their user data.

It remains unclear whether other third-party providers such as the Financial Times and Investegate will reach similar agreements. If they do not then users face a 60 minute delay on all market-sensitive data.