Associated To Rival Desmond’s Star With Tabloid Launch
Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail and the Evening Standard, is believed to be drawing up plans to launch a tabloid competitor to Richard Desmond’s Daily Star.
It is thought that the move is an attempt to hit back at Desmond’s plans to launch a free-sheet London Newspaper, The Evening Mail, to compete against Associated’s Evening Standard (see Desmond Plans To Launch New Evening Paper For London).
A bitter rivalry already exists between Richard Desmond’s Northern & Shell and Associated Newspapers, with their respective Daily Express and Daily Mail embroiled in a fierce mid-market struggle.
Desmond has succeeded in boosting the circulation of the Daily Express with a number of promotions and the Daily Star has gone from strength to strength in the tabloid market. The latest ABC results for the six months to January show that that the Star has seen circulation increase by 11.3% year on year to 769,650. Analysis over a longer period also reveals a relatively strong performance for the title (see below).
According to The Observer, Associated Newspapers has already drawn up a number of Star-like dummies and more work is planned on the project over the coming months. It is understood that the initial plan is to publish a rival to the recently launched Sunday edition of the Star (see NewsLine Feature: Sunday Star Hopes To Shine), but Associated’s new paper could eventually be published on weekdays.
Speculation suggests that the new title will be slightly more upmarket than the Star, with a big emphasis in sport, showbusiness and issues of interest to female readers.
The Observer also claims that Associated Newspapers is considering a number of other initiatives designed to counter Desmond. These include turning the Standard into a free paper or making the Metro a 24-hour operation with morning, afternoon and evening editions.
Late last year it was reported that The Daily Mail & General Trust, which owns Associated Newspapers, is to remain family controlled. The group’s chairman Viscount Rothermere said that he has no intention of changing the company’s controversial share structure that gives his family control of the voting rights (see Daily Mail & General Trust To Remain Family Owned).
DMGT: 020 7938 6000 www.dmgt.co.uk
Recent Newspaper Stories from NewsLine Welham Promoted To Top Ad Role At Telegraph Group Barclay Brothers Set To Sell The Business Trinity Mirror Rumoured To Have Received Take-Over Bid
Subscribers can access ten years of NewsLine articles by clicking the Search button to the left