News

News Corp Australia increases the cover prices of Sunday tabloids

Australia’s largest newspaper publisher News Corp is to increase the prices of its Sunday titles a week after Fairfax did the same for its Sydney flagship.

News Corp Australia, formerly News Limited, will increase the cover price of most of its Sunday tabloid newspapers by 50 cents from Sunday July 21.

The Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Herald Sun, The Sunday Mail (Queensland), Sunday Mail (South Australia) will all increase by 25 per cent, while the The Sunday Tasmanian will increase by 20 cents, a 10 per cent increase.

The announcement comes  days after Fairfax lifted the cover price of city copies of the NSW-based Sun Herald to $2.50 last Sunday. Fairfax’s Melbourne title The Sunday Age has been $2.50 for the last year.

Proposed price changes.

News Corp price changes | Source: Australian Newsagency Blog

“From July 21, the cover price of News metropolitan Sunday newspapers in NSW, VIC, QLD and SA will be $2.50. This brings them in line with The Sunday Times in Perth which experienced an increase earlier this year,” said a News Corp Australia spokeswoman.

“At News, we aim to continue creating commercially sustainable models for quality journalism.”

The moves come as Australia’s publishers attempt to put their titles on a firmer financial footing.

Whereas a high circulation number had been an important part of the advertising sales story, the decline in print ads means that consumers are increasingly being asked to pay a price which is no longer loss leading.

The price rise has also caused comment among newsagents with Australian Newsagency blog’s Mark Fletcher writing: “I think we are approaching a tipping point, a price point beyond which customers will not pay for a print newspaper.”

Nic Christensen 

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