UK: Daily Mail and Sun play the pricing wars

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on March 6, 2007 at 10:06 AM

News International and Associated Newspapers are waging an up and down pricing war in Great Britain, Ireland and Scotland. The Daily Mail slashed its prices momentarily to ward off declining circulation.

After slashing its price a fortnight ago, the Scottish Daily Mail returned to a cover price of 40p. In Northern Ireland, its price was slashed to 15p, before returning to the normal 45p. In the Republic of Ireland, the Daily Mail’s price is 30 cents on weekdays.

These price cuts annoyed Associated Newspapers’ rival, News International, which distributes a heavily discounted Scottish Sun. It just raised the price from 10p to 15p.

The Daily Mail proceeded to reduce the cover price of its last February Saturday paper from 70p to 50p across Britain. The edition also included a free DVD about Princess Diana.

This price cut and supplement effectively boosted the Saturday Daily Mail circulation. In response, the Saturday Sun (costs 55p) featured a free Diana conspiracy DVD and a 16 page photo report on Diana.

Whether this is constructive or destructive competition, it seems the pricing strategy was effective in terms of short-term circulation boost.

Source: Media Guardian