The Sun Re-Enters Price War With Cover Price Cut

The Sun has re-entered the price war against its rival, the Daily Mirror, by cutting its cover price to 10p in the London area.

The move, which will apply every weekday until further notice, is the latest in a line of price cuts in the tabloid newspaper market, which began in May when Trinity Mirror reduced the price of the Daily Mirror to 20p (see Daily Mirror Cuts Cover Price).

News International responded immediately, cutting the price of the Sun from 30p to 20p, a move that was quickly followed by the Daily Express and the Daily Star, both of which reduced their cover prices.

Last month Trinity Mirror brought the string of price cuts, which is thought to be costing those involved millions in revenue each week, to a partial end, by restoring the price of the Daily Mirror to 32p in most of parts of the country (see Mirror Brings Partial End To Price Cut). However, the paper remained at 20p in London, Meridian, Central, West and South West regions and at 10p in Scotland.

Trinity Mirror insists that it has moved away from “short-term circulation boosting initiatives” and maintains that its tactics are part of a wider “integrated strategy” to build the recently revamped Mirror brand (see Mirror Drops Red Top For New Look).

Monthly ABC figures for June show that the Daily Mirror has seen circulation fall by 3.6% year on year to 2,116,717, down from 2,194,866 in the same period last year. In comparison, the Sun experienced a 2.1% year on year rise during the same period, with circulation resting at 3,524,673 in June, up from 3,452,588 in the same period last year.

News International: 020 7782 3922 www.newscorp.co.uk Trinity Mirror: 020 7293 3000 www.trinity.plc.uk

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