FDN NEWSLETTER NO. 44 – www.newspaperinnovation.com - 900 subscribers - March 2009 Romania Plans Closures Switzerland History Adevarul seara expands Swiss & Irish Spain, Italy & 20 Minuten increases The pre-Metro free to 23 editions (p. 2) mergers (p. 1) Switzerland (p. 2) readership again (p. 4) dailies (p. 6) 10 years of Metro UK Newcastle was sold to Trinity Mirror who operated a etro UK, “the most profitable free newspaper in Metro franchise in the city. Also in Glasgow, Birmingham, the world”, celebrated its 10th anniversary on 16 Newcastle, Liverpool and Cardiff Metro is jointly published March with congratulations from Prime Minister by Associated Newspapers and Trinity Mirror. M Gordon Brown on the front page, admitting that “at Downing Street” he is also a regular reader. Metro UK, The Manchester edition is published as a franchise by the owned by Associated Newspapers (The Daily Mail), is Guardian Media Group and is the result of a merger (after also by far the biggest free daily published in one country. legal battles over the Metro name) of GMG’s Manchester Metro (the daily version of their weekly free paper) and News North-West, the Associated Newspapers’ free daily. The Yorkshire edition is published with Regional Independent Media (Johnston Press). In London Metro competes for advertising with two afternoon free dailies: London Lite (also by Associated Newspapers) and thelondonpaper (by Rupert Murdoch’s News International). Apart from that, also free business daily City AM is published in the capital. For the UK media magazine InPublishing I wrote an article on the first ten years of free UK newspapers. The article can be downloaded from the InPublishing website. In Ireland, Associated is publishing a Metro since 2005 while the company acquired a Dubai version, called 7Days, in 2006. 7Days is also profitable, but the Irish edition, competing with INM’s Herald AM is not. Irish free dailies about to merge According to The Irish Times, the two Dublin free dailies Herald AM and Metro are about to merge. The Irish Sunday Independent reported that massive losses for Metro 45%-owner The Irish Times were the main reason for the plans. The paper reported that Metro in total lost €11m while its readership (90,000) is behind that of competitor Herald AM (100,000). (The Independent is like Herald AM and the Evening Herald also owned by Independent News Media). The free daily made its first profits within one year and has been profitable ever since, in 2008 growing 18% in The Irish Metro is owned by The Irish Times (45%) and advertising revenues. Readership is 3.2 million, making it Associated Newspapers (also 45%). Metro International the 4th best-read newspaper in the UK (after The Sun, owns 10% of the operation. The Daily Mail and The Daily Mirror). Herald AM, launched as a defensive paper by the Metro started with 85,000 copies in London, increasing Evening Herald in Dublin. The new paper would be called that later to 125,000, launching also editions Birmingham, Metro Herald, with Metro International selling their share Manchester and Scotland in 1999 and Yorkshire and in the operation. Each paper distributes between 70,000 Newcastle in 2000. In 2004 East Midlands and Southwest and 75,000 copies in Dublin, plans for editions in Cork, were added; followed by Liverpool and Cardiff in 2006. In Galway and Limerick never materialized. London Metro now has a circulation (750,000) five times higher than ten years ago. Metro UK recycle plan Metro launched an advertising campaign to stimulate The Metro monopoly people to recycle their used newspapers. The publisher Metro UK has an (almost) monopoly position in most installed special recycling bins at several train stations. At markets. In London, Manchester, Liverpool, Scotland the same time an advertising campaign was launched in there is competition in the afternoon, but no other general which Metro’s with fake headlines like “Woman abandons free newspaper is published in the morning to compete Metro on train” are used. with Metro. According to PrintWeek the initiative might be linked to Monopoly, however, never came easy. In London the the renewal of the London subway distribution contract publisher had to move quickly and secure the Tube next year. Competitor News International is expected to distribution contract to beat Metro International. The bid as well, if they would get the contract they could move Swedes launched in 2000 in Newcastle but without their afternoon freesheet thelondonpaper to the morning. London, a free paper in the UK proved to be impossible. FDN Newsletter no. 44 – March 2009 – page 1 of 6 The Guardian reported that is was “highly unlikely” that Blick am Abend will continue to be printed in small tabloid Transport of London would allow a new afternoon format. All other Swiss free dailies (20 Minuten, .ch and distribution contract when the Metro morning contract News) have also this small ‘kleinzeitung’ format. comes up for renewal in 2010, “according to a senior figure with knowledge of the process.” (The Guardian) Follow up for News am Abend? The new morning contract, however, will cover a shorter German publisher Holtzbrinck (Handelsblatt) is ending the time than the 10 years Metro got, and will also be more print edition of the free News am Abend edition but their expensive (than the alleged 1 million a year) - so no most important client, German railway Deutsche Bahn surprises here. The real question is whether the contract wants to continue the free daily project, with or without is a mere ‘renewal’ meaning Metro gets the first choice or Holtzbrinck. News am Abend was distributed from 16:00 a new tender. on in first class coaches of the German ICE trains. LAUNCHES According to DWDL (quoting the media magazine Kontakter) one of the possible new partners for a free train daily is Axel Springer, the long time adversary of free Adevarul de Seara expands daily newspapers in Germany. Also Holtzbrinck is Romanian free evening paper Adevarul de Seara (by paid approached to continue the project. morning paper Adevarul) expanded from 7 to 23 local editions in the last months. The paper launched with 7 20 Minutes & Le Matin Bleu merge editions in Bucharest, Iasi, Cluj, Timisoara, Oradea, Arad Swiss media company Tamedia, mostly active in the and Bacau on 17 October 2008. German speaking part of Switzerland, will acquire Geneva (French language) publisher Edipresse. The publishers On 19 December 8 new editions were launched: Ploiesti, are no. 2 and 3 in Switzerland after Ringier. First Tamedia Resita, Hunedoara, Deva, Suceava, Botosani, Targu will buy 49.9%; in 2011 0.2% will be bought so Tamedia Mures and Baia Mare. In 2009 Craiova (20,000) and has the majority in Edipresse - for a total of 226 Chf Targu Jiu (10,000; both on 6 February), Brasov and Sibiu (€153m). The remaining part will be sold in 2013. (February 20), and on (SwissInfo) 27 February Bistrita (7,000) and Constanza The free newspapers in the Western, French speaking (14,000), were added. part, 20 Minutes (Tamedia) and Le Matin Bleu (Edipresse) will merge, meaning that Le Matin Bleu will close down. In In March editions for terms of readership this looks odd as Le Matin Bleu is Râmnicu Vâlcea and better read (524,000 daily readers in the last surveyed Turnu Severin will be period) against 470,000 for 20 Minutes. launched. Total circulation after the Reason might be that Le Matin Bleu could be December launch was cannibalizing on paid paper Le Matin while 20 Minutes is 350,000 - up from the a stronger brand in the whole of Switzerland as it is the initial 250,000. In 2009 market leader in the German speaking part. Offering the paper claims a nationwide advertising would be easier with the combined circulation of 400,000. 20 Minuten/Minutes titles. Official data are not Le Matin Bleu was launched as a free spin-off from the available as the paper Edipresse flagship: tabloid Le Matin. The paper launched has no official BRAT audited circulation data yet. Adevarul in October 2005 with two editions in Geneva and de Seara is published 7 days a week and counts 16 Lausanne. Current circulation is 230,000. pages in full color. All editions have different front pages every day. 20 Minutes started five months later, in March 2006, also with editions in Geneva and Lausanne; in 2007 a regional PLANS edition for Romandie (Neuenburg/Jura) was launched. Circulation is around 220,000. In the German part 20 Minuten distributes more than 500,000 copies in five Blick am Abend expands different editions. Free Swiss evening paper Blick am Abend will expand to Luzern, Zug and St. Gallen in August. The free daily by In total 20 people of the total 70 staff members will lose Ringier gained readers in the last audit and will now their job according to Persoenlich. It can take some time, attack the morning free papers that have local editions in however, before the closure will take place, half a year at these markets. The paper will probably not launch least is needed because the Swiss media-competition separate editions but just expand the distribution in the authority has to approve the deal; some sources say it new markets. Even though the paper gained readers, it is may even be the end of 2009. not yet profitable according to Ringier director Thomas Passen. OBITUARIES Blick am Abend’s ‘mother’ paper Blick will probably reintroduce the broadsheet format in October. Main 24 Minuti will close April 1 reason for the way back to the old format is “to Free Italian afternoon daily 24 Minuti, published by differentiate the paper from free newspapers” according to business paper Il Sole 24 Ore, will close down April 1.