Standard set to up the ante in London newspaper street war

LONDON - The Evening Standard is poised to up the ante in the newspaper war on London¹s streets by offering free and heavily discounted copies of its 50p daily paper outside train and Tube stations.

The new business plan is the first significant move by the paper¹s new Russian oligarch owner Alexander Lebedev and his management team as they look to claw readers back from News International-owned thelondonpaper and Associated Newspapers¹ London Lite.

The strategy, currently undergoing secret testing, involves free copies of the Standard being distributed by vendors in the evening outside train and Tube stations, upmarket restaurants and West End theatres.

The paper¹s vendors, previously self-employed, will now be paid fixed hourly rates through a third party and work past 9pm, instead of packing up at 6pm.

Distribution of free newspapers finishes about 7.30pm.

The varying price strategy, which will be fully rolled out in London by March, is likely to be implemented after 8pm or 9pm in the evening, depending on the success of the trials. The Evening Standard will still be sold at 50p during the day.

Vendors will be kitted out in new Evening Standard-branded uniforms, similar to those worn by freesheet distributors, to meet the competition head on.

Sources at the Standard claim secret testing of the new pricing strategy has already led to a substantial uplift in circulation.

The paper recently scaled back its distribution by about 40% and dropped from three to two editions a day.

The management team is now focused on ramping up circulation to upmarket Londoners within the M25 and, specifically, the North and South Circular road routes.

According to latest ABC figures, the Standard recorded a fourth month of year-on-year circulation rise in December, posting a circulation of 287,173 copies a day, 126,346 of which were bulks.

The Evening Standard has confirmed Tatler editor Geordie Greig will be its new editor and is due to start at the end of February. He is replacing Veronica Wadley who has edited the paper since 2002.

John Reynolds
Mediaweek
3rd February