Advertising agencies in Britain are expected to be told next week that the Independent newspaper is to introduce a tabloid edition.
Described as its most dramatic makeover yet, the struggling newspaper is expected to sell the tabloid edition for 30p (43 cent) in the London area only. It will be available alongside the broadsheet edition. The newspaper is owned by Independent News & Media via its UK subsidiary, Independent Newspapers UK.
Major advertisers have been invited to a top-level briefing next Tuesday, when Independent executives are expected to unveil the shift in strategy.
According to sources, the company believes a tabloid edition could attract younger readers who have embraced Metro, the tabloid freesheet that is distributed in several large British cities. The content of the tabloid is expected to be almost identical to the broadsheet edition.
If the tabloid edition is priced at 30p it would make it 20p cheaper than the cheapest broadsheet, the Times. Independent hopes this will prove attractive to younger readers who tend to be price sensitive.
While some observers have described the change as "a last roll of the dice", Independent believes a tabloid edition could be distributed via non-traditional channels such as vending machines.
Senior Independent directors have assured the market that the broadsheet is not about to be withdrawn. The head of the British operation, Mr Ivan Fallon, said the broadsheet would be published "for a good few years yet".
The Guardian claimed this week that the Independent had been considering the idea of going tabloid for some time and may have been encouraged by the continued success of the left-wing Liberation in France.
Some sources have suggested if the London edition sells well it could be launched elsewhere in Britain. The Independent's circulation fell 3.5 per cent last month, year-on-year, to 178,699.
