Manchester Evening News To Launch Lite Edition

The Manchester Evening News (MEN) announced today the launch of a Lite version of the paper, which will be distributed free in the city centre from March 21.

The free version of the MEN, owned by the Guardian Media Group, will be aimed at commuters who typically do not buy a newspaper as they leave Manchester in the evening. It will contain a mixture of news, lifestyle features and entertainment.

Manchester Evening News plan to soft launch the Lite edition and quickly build to the target circulation of 10,000 copies per night.

Commenting on the launch, David Benjamin, managing director of the Manchester Evening News said: “Our objective is to capture the largest audience share in Manchester. However, readership habits have changed and it is no longer possible to satisfy this objective with one homogenous product.”

He continued: “We regard the MEN as a portfolio of complementary products each of which is relevant to specific audience groups. We have an early edition for inbound commuters, a lunchtime edition for the traditional reader and now a Lite edition for outbound commuters.”

Mark Rix, deputy managing director of the Manchester Evening News pointed out the benefits of the continued development of the papers portfolio of media products. He said: “We can now effectively target a wider range of readers throughout the day and deliver far greater and more diverse audiences for our advertisers.”

He added: “Our commercial priority is to ensure that we continue to deliver cost effective, high quality response for our advertising customers. It is that simple.”

At the end of last year, the Evening Standard launched its highly anticipated free-sheet, Evening Standard Lite, targeting upmarket females ages 18 to 35 within central London (see Evening Standard Lite To Launch Next Week).

Over the past two months the Evening Standard Lite has increased its circulation by over 16,000, rising from 54,947 in January 2005 to 71,567 in February, according to the latest bulk distribution figures.

Guardian Media Group: 020 7713 4452 www.gmgplc.co.uk/

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