Competitor to the i?

Lebedev's "new" newspaper, the i

It looks like Murdoch’s News International might be working on a competitor to Lebedev’s the i, the sister paper of the Independent. The gossip says that the paper would only cost 10p, which is half the price of the i. There’s also rumours that the paper might be called the Daily, the same name as Murdoch’s latest iPad only newspaper. The i has been more successful than first expected and daily sales is now up to 175,00 copies. So there is no real surprise that businessman Murdoch would be interested in making something similar. News International’s view is that the i, is a mid-market paper and to make something similar would fit in well with tabloid sheet, the Sun and broadsheet paper, the Times that they already own.

According to the Guardian, the i is making around £3m-£4m at the moment and that the number might rise in the future.  So Lebedev is obviously making money on this “new” product, which is probably why the idea to start his own similar paper might be on Murdoch’s mind.

I think it would be interesting to see some new newspapers on the market and as I mentioned a few weeks ago, I really do like the i. Many say it’s similar to free sheets like Metro and the Evening Standard and I agree to some extent but 20p isn’t much to pay for a newspaper that provides you with good quality news in a short time. If Murdoch decides to do something similar for a lower price I think it could be a real competitor to do i who might not yet have a loyal readership. This news also makes me think that this idea of publishing short stories might be the structure of the “new” newspaper. It might be the way readers want their news in this day and age when we’re in such a hurry and always on the go. To be able to get our news from NIB sized stories might just be the way forward.