Livingstone Opens Bidding For London’s Afternoon Freesheet

London mayor, Ken Livingstone, has opened the bidding for the creation of an afternoon freesheet in the capital, ending the exclusive contract held by Associated Newspapers for sole distribution of the Metro newspaper within London Underground stations.

Livingstone revealed that a notice will be placed in the Official Journal of the European Union next week seeking expressions of interest from publishers, building on his promise at the beginning of the year to end Associated’s Metro distribution deal (see Livingstone Opens Tube To Afternoon Freesheet).

The mayor said: “For the past six years Associated Newspapers have distributed the Metro in the morning. It’s a matter of public record that other newspaper businesses would be willing to distribute a free afternoon paper and might even pay more than we are getting for the Metro deal. All newspaper groups will now have a formal opportunity to let us know that they are interested. Any additional money from a new deal would be invested in further improvements to the Tube.”

Associated’s current distribution arrangements allow the Metro newspaper to reach 19 million Tube passengers each year. However, the price paid by the publisher for the privilege is just £1 million, around 25% of the deal’s actual worth, according to Mr Livingstone (see Livingstone Seeks Increased Newspaper Revenue From Tube).

The creation of a free evening paper in the capital would be a boon for Londoners, with the increased revenue resulting in around £10 million less investment required by council tax to pay for the Tube’s operation.

There are several publishers believed to be interested in creating an evening freesheet, with Richard Desmond’s Express Newspapers and Associated Newspapers well placed to create afternoon offerings.

Desmond is understood to be awaiting clearance from the Office of Fair Trading for the launch of his London i title, which is otherwise ready to run (see Desmond Eyes New Name For Planned London Free-Sheet). Elsewhere, rumours have circulated that Associated will extend the reach of its Evening Standard Lite title, or merge it with the Metro to create an afternoon edition (see Evening Standard May Drop Price To Boost Circulation).

Associated Newspapers: 020 7938 6000 www.associatednewspapers.com Northern & Shell: 020 7308 5090 Transport for London: 020 7941 4500 www.tfl.gov.uk

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