London Evening Standard set to drop edition

The London Evening Standard will drop from three to two editions a day and cut the number of newsagents that sell the paper from Monday.

Managing editor Doug Wills said today that the distribution changes are part of the titles review of its whole “distribution pattern”.

A note to readers was published in yesterday’s Evening Standard, stating: “With the change in printing times and distribution, it may be that your usual outlet no longer receives the Evening Standard.”

However, Wills said the title’s distribution network is “incredibly complex” so he was unable to reveal specific locations that may no longer stock the paper.

In October, the Standard‘s owner Daily Mail & General Trust announced that the middle edition of the title would be dropped, while its first and final editions would be distributed later in the day.

The first edition, which is expected to be renamed News Extra, and the West End Final edition will both hit newsstands at later times.

Wills said: “At the moment there are huge numbers of business stories that are breaking and developing during the day. We’ll start printing the West End Final edition later in the day to make the coverage bang up to date.”

The title’s changes also include a new look for its free glossy magazine ES from Friday – last week DMGT announced it would be making the magazine available online, in a bid to up its digital offering (see Evening Standard’s ES mag goes online).

The Evening Standard enjoyed a 3% month on month increase in its circulation in the latest ABC release, giving it a total circulation figure of just under 307,000 copies (see Evening Standard’s circulation up in October).

The Daily Mail & General Trust: 020 7938 6747 www.dmgt.co.uk