Giveaway newspaper war erupts in Denmark

A free newspaper hit the streets of Copenhagen last week, the first salvo in an emerging war among free dailies in Denmark. At least three others will be launched this year.Hawkers started handing out copies of the tabloid Dato at key traffic points in the Danish capital, and copies will also be distributed directly to homes in Denmark’s major cities starting this week.

The newspaper, which means “date” in Danish, is being published by Berlingske Officin AS, which also publishes several other newspapers including one of Europe’s oldest dailies, Berlingske Tidende. Berlingske Officin’s parent company has agreed to be bought by Mecom Group PLC, a media investment company in Britain.

Rival media company JP/Politikens Hus AS plans to launch its own free newspaper, 24timer, today while Metro International SA will introduce a free afternoon newspaper next week in addition to the free metroXpress daily it already distributes in the morning. In addition to metroXpress, Denmark already has another free daily newspaper called Urban. In all the relatively small market could in a few months host seven free newspapers in major cities.
The battle lines formed earlier this year when Icelandic conglomerate 365 Media Scandinavia shocked the Danish media industry by announcing it would issue a free newspaper, Nyhedsavisen, to some 500,000 homes in Denmark.

24timer

Click to enlarge

Centrum Aften

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