The London Evening Standard is to increase its print run from 700,000 to 900,000 copies – covering all 33 London boroughs for the first time.
From Monday, the free paper – owned by ESI Media – will have its distribution extended from the central city out through to zone 6 after consumer research showed a strong desire for wider availability.
The expansion has been combined with a re-launched digital version for tablets and smartphones and coincides with the long-anticipated launch of London Live, ESI Media’s local TV venture which is due to air in March on Freeview, with a budget of £15 million a year.
ESI will also undergo a departmental re-structure to improve internal communication and encourage more effective external collaboration.
Print traders will now sell across both the London Evening Standard and The Independent for print to print buyers, while the digital team will similarly sell across all brands but to digital buying teams.
The company is currently in the process of recruiting for a head of TV and two TV sales managers who will work with agency TV buyers regarding channel inventory.
The commercial team has also been bolstered ahead of the London Live launch, adding Simon Poole (Ex-GMTV), Dominic de Terville (ex-Sky) and Dan Locke (ex-CBS) to its senior leadership team.
“The increase in circulation means that we can now satisfy both readers who could not previously get a copy and advertisers who continue to crave the much sought after quality audience the capital provides,” ESI Media’s group commercial director, Jon O’Donnell, wrote in an internal letter.
“[…] the net effect of this move is that we will now be able to offer a truly multi-layered approach to London as the newspaper perfectly complements the footprint of the television station. This is something we believe is extremely important for offering joined up commercial campaigns aimed at a synergised audience.”
Sarah Sands, editor of London Evening Standard, said: “The next 12 months are going to be exciting for the London Evening Standard. Through this increased distribution and the launch of our sister TV station, we will be giving even more Londoners access to the very best reporting on this fantastic city.”
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