Metro.co.uk to move to MailOnline

Metro.co.uk is to be merged with the MailOnline, Metro’s managing director Steve Aukland has confirmed.

It is understood that the incorporation of metro.co.uk into the MailOnline, which are both owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust, has been agreed because it “makes business sense” to open up the hugely successful MailOnline’s resources to its sister newsbrand.

MailOnline currently boasts 11.8 million unique browsers a day, and earlier this year announced that it will be switching its current .co.uk domain to .com as it looks to expand its global audience.

Commenting on the merger, Aukland said that the potential to accelerate Metro.co.uk’s digital growth and monetise it is “best served by the MailOnline team at this moment in time. It will free the rest of the business to concentrate on reinvigorating Metro.”

Although Aukland said that he aims to focus on a “print-first” strategy for Metro, there remains speculation over whether DMGT is looking to sell the paper in the long-run.

While the Metro’s digital arm has seen a 300% lift in browsers to more than 22 million a month, the move raises questions regarding the future of the newsbrand’s free print edition, which last month recorded an average daily circulation of 771,000 after reporting a -1% year on year decline.