Economist is latest publication added to free Times delivery service

Posted by Helena Humphrey on September 24, 2009 at 9:33 AM

News International, which provides a free delivery service of its main UK title the Times, has added the Economist to its list of weekly and daily publications currently available alongside its newspaper subscription, the Guardian has reported. The group of eight publications currently includes the Radio Times, Grazia and The Week.

Subscribers to the service are guaranteed delivery of the Times before 7 am each day, and by "topping-up", have the option to purchase other publications for delivery.

Owing to the flexibility of the service, New's International service is flourishing: There is no contract, orders can be changed up until 11 hours before delivery, or even cancelled at any time. Though the relatively new service is currently only available to those located in London and its suburbs, Isaac Showman, marketing manager for the Economist, has high hopes for its future success: "News International are playing a long-term game here, in terms of what they want to offer their customers, and we want to make sure that we're part of that. They know what they're doing."

So could such an efficient delivery service be used to maintain the circulation of print and its readership? Certainly the Independent has received a positive response from its simillar operation. It is expected that the delivery scheme will expand to include access to the News International newspaper websites within the subscription, if the publisher starts charging for online content, which it seems likely to do before next summer.

Source: Guardian