Sun on Sunday and Saturday to be 50p
News International has announced both the Sunday Sun and the Saturday edition of the red top will have a “regular” cover price of 50p from this weekend.
The new pricing reduces the cost of the Sun on Saturday by 10p and will make the Sunday Sun up to three times cheaper than its closest red top competitors.
A News International spokeswoman confirmed to Marketing Week that the pricing strategy is “not promotional” to entice readers to the new Sunday edition and that both cover prices are for the long term.
The news is likely to spark a price war between rival tabloid newspapers, although long-term reductions on cover prices are likely to be unsustainable financially.
News International’s rival publishers have been scrambling to mitigate the excitement building around this weekend’s launch of the Sunday Sun and are preparing a raft of promotions, temporary price reductions and multi-million pound above the line marketing campaigns in a bid to retain readers.
Meanwhile News International has been promoting its line-up of celebrity columnists, including Nancy Dell’Olio, Roy Keane and James Martin, in its weekday Sun paper and online.
News International also launched its first above the line marketing campaign promoting the new paper earlier this week.
