Daily Star Price Cut Sparks Fears Of Tabloid Price War
The Daily Star has slashed its weekday cover price to just 15p, sparking fears that a fresh tabloid price war is on its way.
The move by the newspaper, owned by media mogul Richard Desmond, could force tabloid rivals the Sun and Daily Mirror to drop their price in order to compete. The move is understood to have been taken in order to give a seasonal lift to the paper, which has seen circulation dip by 0.7% year on year in the six months to November 2004.
However, looking at longer circulation trends, the newspaper has seen an impressive 70.1% increase over the past 5 years, currently commanding a total circulation of 893,644. Desmond has not commented on how long the lower price will remain in place.
The last tabloid price war in 2002 cost both Trinity Mirror and News International dearly, with Trinity understood to have suffered revenue declines of nearly £20m. News International’s revenues were also left bruised and battered, with reports suggesting as much as 50% of the company’s UK revenues were lost as a result of the price war (see The Sun Signals An End To The Price War).
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