Free dailies in Israel
After incumbent Israeli and Israel Today (see previous post), a third free daily was launched last summer. Free afternoon paper Metro is distributed between 2 and 5 PM, making it the only afternoon daily in Israel. The paper is owned by Dudi Weissman (Blue Square supermarkets, AM-PM convenience stores, and Dor Alon energy firm) and Eli Azur, also owner of paid English language paper The Jerusalem Post. Metro will use some editorial content from the Jerusalem Post. Distribution is mainly through the Weissmann owned chains. The circulation target is 250,000. Both other papers claim a joint circulation of more than 300,000. If these numbers are indeed correct (there is no audited circulation data yet) free dailies in Israel have a market share of more than 40 percent.
Sources: Jerusalem Post, Wikipedia