Newspaper Innovation

Metro Holland will increase circulation in 2012 Q2 to 524,000. In Q1 circulation was increased to 464,000 according to the publisher. In 2011 the average circulation was 434.000. The new circulation, is not yet officially confirmed by auditing organization HOI-online.

The increased circulation is the result of the closure of free dialy De Pers in March. Metro took over some distribution channels and 70 distributors. Circulation in restaurants, hospitals and the Rotterdam area is increased.

With the new circulation Metro claims to be the “Largest Newspaper in the Netherlands”.

This is not true. De Telegraaf is stil the newspaper with the highest circulation: 619,000 copies in 2011 (543,000 paid).

Metro adds that it is the largest in the group 18-54. There are no data, however, to support that claim. Also, being the largest in a certain age group refers to readership, not to circulation.

Below the latest readership data (2011) from NOM-Printmonitor. Metro have more readers in the age group below 50, but not more in the group below 65. The 18-54 group is not reported in public data from NOM.

The free daily ”Metro” (Agora, Poland) won an INMA (International Newsmedia Marketing Association) award for their ”No face day” project.

The ”No face day” street event (March 2, 2011) was part of the online social campaign by Symantec, Asus and Vobis to gain publicity to the problem of cyber crimes and the risks of sharing personal data via internet.

Metro readers got their copy of the newspaper from masked distributors whose strange, disturbing, faceless apparition symbolized loss of identity in cyber space. The event was further supported by Metro’s wrap-around informative cover with a symbolic picture of a young man with his face torn off the paper.

The 77th edition of INMA Awards garnered 540 entries from 141 marketing newsmedia companies in 34 countries. More about the competition and this year’s winners.

Metro International will be delisted from the Stockholm stock exchange on 31 May 2012.

Almost all shares and warrants have been bought by Metro’s largest shareholder Investment AB Kinnevik. After the last day of trading Kinnevik will offer holders to divest such holdings to Kinnevik (or a subsidiary) on terms corresponding to those applicable under Kinnevik’s previous public cash offer.

Free daily SF Examiner has bought the free weekly Bay Guardian for an undisclosed sum according to SFgate.

The combination is somewhat weird as the former publication has had a clear conservative editirial line while the Bay Guardian is a progressive weekly.

The Examiner, however, has changed hands in November 2011, when a group of businessmen bought it from Denver businessman Philip Anschutz.

The Guardian, started in 1962, has a circulation of 70,000 copies. The Examiner distributes 180,000 copies on average.

Metro International CEO Per Mikael Jensen said in an interview in Dutch financial daily FD that the paper will increase circulation with 50,000 copies.

Background is the closure of third Dutch free daily De Pers in March.

Metro distributed 480,000 daily copies on average in 2011, competitor Spits distributed 390,000 copies. The circulation of De Pers was around 300,000.

Metro Holland showed disappointing results in Q1 2012 (EBIT margin -3%), in the whole year 2011 the EBIT margin was 2%.

Metro has already taken over some distribution points of De Pers.

That it is not that easy to improve results after a competitor closes down, showed Metro Denmark. Alhough competitor Urban closed down in the beginning of this year, the results dropped from +8% EBIT margin in Q1 2011 to -2% in Q1 2012.

DirectMatin, French free daily by the Bolloré Group, launched its first ‘real’ website last week. Previously the paper only had a site were pdf’s could be downloaded.

All sections (people, elections, politics, media, opinion) of the site start with large photo’s – today two of the five main pictures contained president Sarkozy, a close friend of owner Bolloré. (click for enlargement)

When you first access the site, DirectMartin asks you permission to store your location, probably because it want to target advertising.

The paper can also be read as an epaper (Le Journal) while it can besaved to Google Docs or downloaded as well.

Danish free daily 24timer (owned by Metro International) introduced a new design yesterday.

The design is much more ‘basic’ and uses a slightly different color blue than the previous design (below).

Because of disappointing European results and launching costs in Colombia, Metro International reports a loss of €1.6m in the first quarter of 2012 (-€2.2 in Q1 2011).

Net revenue of the company, however, increased by 4% to €47.2m (€45.2m in 2011).

Metro reports sales growth in Chile, Mexico and St Petersburg (EBIT margin of 29%). Also Brazil performed very well.

Sweden showed an EBIT margin of 11% (13% in Q1 2011) with a stable revenue. The margin in Denmark was -2% (+8% in 2011), while Holland dropped to -3% (+8% in 2011).

In the last case, the situation changed in 2012: “The free daily newspaper De Pers closed down their operation in March and Metro has taken over important elements of their distribution.”

Hong Kong also reported a minus (-1%), which is new for this edition. Net revenue went up, but the free daily competion in Hong Kong increased dramatically in 2011.

Sports paper Marca saw readership increase in April 2011 – March 2012 compared to 2011 with 1%. El Mundo Deportivo and AS both lost 1% of its readers but fourth sports paper Sport saw an increase of 2%.

All other papers in Spain lost readers: -3% for free newspaper 20 Minutos, -1% for El Pais, -@% for free daily Qué! and -!% for El Mundo. Free daily ADN ceased publication. Data from AIMC.

Metro UK launched in March 1999. In the next 12 years, almost a dozen other free papers were launched.

Some of them, like Argus Lite, FTpm, Manchester Metro, The Record PM, Morning News or Manchester Metro, lasted only for a short time and had a low circulation.

Other like London Lite and Thelondonpaper printed 400,000 to half a million copies.

In 2007, total circulation was almost 2.5 million. In 2011 it is stil 2.2 million. (Click for bigger picture.)