Although Associated Newspapers holds the rights to distribute the morning Metro at the Manchester Piccadilly station, the proposed freesheet would be distributed from 3pm to 9pm, Monday through Friday.

With approximately 60,000 people traveling through Manchester Piccadilly every day, newspaper companies' interest in the station and its potential as a spot for freesheet distribution seems suitably justified.  Discussing its tender to distribute a free evening daily, Network Rail director Mike Martin said, “Manchester is economically booming and now has an output equivalent to Leeds, Liverpool, and Sheffield combined. Therefore the opportunity to distribute a free newspaper is a great one in a rapidly growing market.”

News International hopes to expand the London Paper’s distribution to a national level, but Associated Newspapers’ London Lite is not far behind with similar ambitions.  (In February, the London Paper pulled slightly ahead in circulation figures.)

As the proposed Manchester title could soon join the fierce freesheet war between the London Paper and the London Lite, distributors should be prepared to face aggressive competitors as well as demands to contribute to clean up costs.

Source: Media Guardian