News International Extends Sale Of Tabloid Times
News International has announced plans to extend the compact Times to the Yorkshire and Tyne Tees regions, in a move that suggests the tabloid edition could soon be available nationally.
The scaled-down edition of the paper will be sold alongside the broadsheet Times in the two television regions from next week, in a development that takes the total print of the compact version to 300,000.
The tabloid Times went on sale in Manchester, Liverpool, the Midlands and South East last month, following its initial launch for commuters in the London metropolitan at the end of November.
Commenting on the development, editor of the Times, Robert Thomson, said: “We are continuing to expand the very successful compact Times. There is no doubt that many discerning readers appreciate traditional Times quality in the new format.”
He added: “Other newspapers have yet to appreciate that as well as great dynamism in the north-west, there is a thriving economy and sophisticated readership in the north-east.”
The latest ABC results for January 2004 show that the Times saw its circulation increase by 3.8% during the month to 660,713. The Independent has also been boosted by the introduction of its tabloid edition, which helped circulation to rise by 7% during the same period to just under 250,000.
The compact Independent went on sale across the nation on February 10 and the title has completely ditched its broadsheet edition in certain parts of the country. The Times is expected also expected to launch on a national level, but no firm data has been set (see Independent Ditches Broadsheet Edition In Some Areas).
The new compact editions of the Independent and the Times appear to be denting the growth of other broadsheet titles. The Daily Telegraph saw circulation remain virtually static during January with a nominal 0.3% increase to 914,981 and the Guardian only managed a modest 2.2% month on month rise to 383,157 (see ABC National Newspaper Round-Up – January 2004).
News International: 020 7782 3922 www.newscorp.com
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