Free daily newspapers, regarded as the great saviour of print across the globe over the past decade, appear to have passed their zenith.
Figures compiled by Piet Bakker show that in 2008 there were 266 free papers published in 60 countries with a total average distribution of 42m. By this month, the number of countries dropped to 55, the number of papers fell to fewer than 200 and distribution is down to 35m.
The most interesting figures are those for Europe. In 2007, there were 140 papers distributing 27m copies a day. This year, there are 87 papers with a total distribution of 19.3m.
But Bakker believes fewer papers per market (3.6 per country) in 2010 is "a more healthy model than in 2007 and 2008" when there were 4.7 per country.
Source: Newspaper Innovation
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