The rise and fall of the London Lite

Associated Newspapers’ evening freesheet the London Lite will hit the streets for the final time this afternoon.

On October 27, the publisher announced that it would be entering a period of consultation over the paper’s future after the Evening Standard took the decision to go free.

At the time, the managing director of Associated Newspapers Free Division, Steve Auckland,  said: “The latest development in the London afternoon free newspaper space dictates that we look again at the future of London Lite.

“Despite reaching a large audience with an excellent editorial format, we are concerned about the commercial viability in this highly competitive area.”

However, the future of the title was already under question.  Associated have been reviewing the Lite since the closure of its fellow freesheet thelondonpaper in September, three years after it launched.

The two rival titles hit the London market in 2006 – launching less than a month apart – instigating a fairly public and heated battle between Associated and thelondonpaper‘s Rupert Murdoch-owned publisher News International.

The London Lite started on a distribution of almost 360,000 copies, while thelondonpaper handed out around 327,000 copies.  However, Murdoch soon upped his game and thelondonpaper took the lead from then on in, with an average circulation of around 500,000 copies.

The London Lite, meanwhile, stuck to a distribution of around 400,000 copies.

Both titles sat well ahead of the part-Associated-owned Evening Standard, which had its heyday back in 2003 with a regular monthly circulation of more than 400,000 copies.

The paid-for title was still selling well over 300,000 copies before the London Lite and thelondonpaper launched in the summer of 2006.  By December, its circulation had already taken a dive, falling to 263,000 copies.

As a result, the Standard – which Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev bought for a £1 from Daily Mail & General Trust earlier this year – was forced to rethink its position in the then-crowded market.

In May, Lebedev – who has a 75.1% majority stake in the Evening Standard – relaunched the title in an attempt to broaden its audience and better compete with its rival London papers but to no avail.

However, in August, things started to look up for Lebedev.  News International announced plans to close thelondonpaper with James Murdoch, News Corp’s chairman and chief executive of Europe and Asia, saying the company wanted to “focus investment on our core titles”.

“The team at thelondonpaper has made great strides in a short space of time with innovative design and a fresh approach but the performance of the business in a difficult free evening newspaper sector has fallen short of expectations. We have taken a tough decision that reflects our priorities as a business,” Murdoch said.

Less than a month later, the Evening Standard‘s new owners unveiled plans to start distributing 600,000 free copies the title across London every day.

The industry called it a “no-brainer”, although soon all eyes were back on the London Lite.   “It’s another nail in London Lite‘s coffin”, said Alan Brydon, head of press at MPG.

So, it didn’t come as much of a surprise when Associated announced plans to close the title late last month.

Associated’s decision has since divided Londoners – some of which like having the choice of a ‘lite’ read, while others are too engrossed in their free copy of the Standard to even notice and will just appreciate less distributors and less waste.

An ask around the offices proves just that –

Simon: “I won’t miss it, as I always felt the Evening Standard was more substantial”

Peter:  “London Lite (like thelondonpaper) are little more than a way to pass the time of day during a commute.  It wasn’t a great paper, and as there is a free alternative, I won’t miss it.”

Anne: “I will miss the London Lite as it was perfectly positioned for a brain-fried over-worked commuter who just wanted to stare at something relatively-mindless for the journey home.  How am I supposed to play spot the difference now?  Don’t want to read the Evening Standard – too many words, and not enough pictures.”

Danny: “I think the Lite has had its day now.  The public has had enough of these rags that offer little news and a lot of tat”

Ian: “It’s been a brilliant paper, lots of entertaining stuff to read on the way home.  The letters page with the texts on it was brilliant, I’ll miss that.  The Standard is a bit dry and dull compared with the Lite.”