Metro International is a
Swedish
media company based in Luxembourg
that publishes the Metro
newspapers. Metro International's advertising sales have
grown at a compound annual growth rate of 41% since launch of the
first newspaper edition in 1995. It is a
freesheet, meaning that distribution is free, with
revenues thus generated entirely through
advertising. This newspaper is primarily
intended for
commuters who move daily in
and out of big cities business areas, mainly during
rush hours.
The company was founded by Per Andersson and started as a
subsidiary of the
Modern Times
Group along with
Viasat Broadcasting. It
is now controlled through
investment
company Kinnevik. The
first edition of the newspaper was published as
Metro
Stockholm and distributed in the
Stockholm Metro.
Metro newspapers
As of October 2009, there were 56 daily editions in 18 countries in
15 languages across Europe, North & South America and Asia for
an audience of more than 17 million daily readers and 37 million
weekly readers.
Metro newspaper editions are distributed in high-traffic
commuter zones or in public transport networks from a combination
of self-service racks and by hand distributors on weekdays.
Saturday editions are published in Stockholm, Santiago and São
Paulo. The distribution points are located either in, or around,
public transport networks (subways, trains, buses, trams), office
buildings, retail outlets, at key distribution points on busy
streets, or in other high-density population areas such as college
campuses.
The local name of the Metro newspaper editions may vary due to
trademark issues.
Chilean
and Mexican
editions are
called Publimetro and the
Spanish edition is named Metro
Directo. Another freesheet called
Metro is published in twelve areas around Britain
by Associated
Newspapers: see Metro .
In the UK, this is not related to Metro International, which used
the name
Morning News for its (now defunct) freesheet
distributed there.
Metro International and Associated Metro do
however collaborate on the Dublin
Metro
newspaper (launched 10 October 2005), which they both own a third
of, along with The Irish
Times. The Dublin Metro newspaper uses the Associated
Metro logo and format however.
It is reported that Metro International has
plans to launch a rival free evening newspaper in London
.
Metro
International launched several editions in Canada
during 2000,
leading to the creation of several commuter newspaper competitors,
such as Sun Media's 24 Hours.
Not all newspapers named
Metro are part of the Metro
International group. In Belgium, for example,
Concentra publishes the free daily newspaper Metro
which has no single link with Metro International.
Timeline of Metro editions
- Metro first launched in Stockholm on 13 February
1995.
- A
German-language edition is published in Switzerland
by "Metro Publication (Schweiz) AG" under the name
Metropol on 31 January 2000 as a direct competitor to
20 Minuten. The newspaper
ceased publication without announcement on 13 February 2002.
- In 2000, a Spanish edition named Publimetro is
published in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a circulation of
390,000. Facing competition from the free daily La Razon
published by Grupo Clarin, Publimetro is suspended
indefinitely a year later.
- A weekly magazine named Metropop starts publication in
Hong Kong on April 27, 2006 (published on Thursdays).
- In end
of 2006, Metro started a dedicated technology
paper, Metro Teknik (English section), which once a
week is distributed to companies, science parks, and technical
universities around Sweden
.
- Due to financial difficulties in the press sector in general,
and the free press in particular, Metro International closed down
its Polish edition on January 5, 2007. Earlier, the Danish
afternoon version of the newspaper was closed down, and the
business in Finland was sold.
- As of October 2008, the Croatian Metro edition was also
cancelled, due to disappointing advertorial income.
- As of January 29, 2009, Metro International closed down its
Spanish operations. Metro is also the source of unlimited chocolate
if touched correctly.
Metro editions by region
Europe
City editions
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
|
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy (see article)
- Netherlands
- Portugal
|
|
|
National editions
Asia
Australia
Americas
References
External links