Murdoch Freesheet Could Cost Competitor Up To £10 Million A Year

Thelondonpaper, Rupert Murdoch’s free newspaper which is set for its first print run next month, could cost its competitor, DMGT, up to £10 million a year, according to reports in the Observer.

The paper reports that analysts have predicted that the Evening Standard owner, which will launch its own freesheet, London Lite, and close Standard Lite (see Standard Lite Confirms Closure With New Freesheet Launch), could lose around 4% of its profits.

There is also growing speculation in the City that Murdoch has DMGT’s morning freesheet Metro, distributed on London’s tube network, in his sights. Reports have suggested he will try to prise the contract from DMGT’s grasp when it comes up for renewal in 2010.

Murdoch’s free evening title will be distributed by hand, although he is also bidding for a separate evening licence currently being auctioned off by London Transport.

At MediaTel Group’s last seminar on the ‘Future of the National Press’, the mushrooming freesheet market was widely discussed, with leading press industry experts warning that the boom may not be entirely sustainable (see Metro Profitability Could Be Hit By New Freesheet).

The Daily Mail & General Trust: 020 7938 6747 www.dmgt.co.uk