US newspaper to hit stands in London, threat to FT

The Wall Street Journal is to go on sale in the capital from 16 April which is likely to raise the competitive threat to rivals like Pearson’s Financial Times.

The highly regarded US paper is to be sold in 250 newsagents in the financial heart of the City including Canary Wharf and West End and where many leading global investment banks have European headquarters. The newspaper will also be sold at Heathrow and London City airports.

Currently, many bankers and financiers subscribe to the online version of the Wall Street Journal so it is unknown how many will stop to pick up a printed copy.

Rupert Murdoch’s recently acquired Dow Jones & Co publishing business will begin printing the Wall Street Journal in London this month. Murdoch’s News Corp recently unveiled the new £650 million printing presses it has built in the UK, including a facility in Broxbourne, north of London, which it bills as the world’s largest.

Initially, there will be a print run of approximately 3,500 copies costing £2.50, higher than the £1.50 Financial Times cover price. However, not in comparison to other non-UK papers sold in Britain.

Michael Bergmeijer, managing director of Dow Jones’s consumer media group in Europe, said we believe a large number of internationally-minded people living and working in London will value the US edition, and we’ll now be able to give them the competitive advantage of having the world’s best business paper 5 hours ahead of US readers.

Currently, the Wall Street Journal has a print and online circulation of almost 2.1 million, with www.wsj.com ranked as the largest paid subscriptions news service on the Web.

Paul Gooden, an analyst at ABN Amro said the Journal’s arrival in London was ‘clearly not helpful‘ for the FT although offsetting this was its high price and US-centric editorial focus.

The Journal sells more papers in the US than it does in the UK. However, circulation figures for many British newspapers are declining as free papers or web-based information services make gains.

Chief Executive, Marjorie Scardino and Finance Director, Robin Freestone, of Pearson have said they have been observing Robert Murdoch closely to see what strategies he pursues.

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