Associated Newspapers and the Guardian Media Group are to join forces to publish a free morning newspaper in Manchester. GMG is to license its Metro title to Associated in a deal which will bring to an end months of wrangling between the two publishers.
Free morning papers from both groups have been circulating in the city for a year after Associated rushed out its own Metro title to scupper the launch of GMG’s Manchester Metro News (see Manchester In Local Newspaper War). Associated was then forced to change the name of its title to News North-West following a court ruling brought by GMG, which claimed the rights to the Metro masthead (see Metro North West Changes Name After Losing Appeal).
Today’s deal will lead to the closure of the Guardian’s Manchester Metro, with a new title to be launched on 12 February.
Editorial for the paper will be provided by Associated while the Guardian Media Group will publish, print and distribute the title. Associated will sell national advertising and GMG will be in charge of regional and local ads.
Hello. We have downloaded cookies on your device. Some of these cookies are essential for the website to function. Others are non-essential and are used for analytics and advertising.
We need your consent for these types of cookies.
To withdraw your consent or change your cookie choices, please do this through your browser settings.
Otherwise, click OK to accept and continue.
