I have been wondering about the plan for The Form, the new racing guide published by Fairfax yesterday – separate for the first time from the Sydney Morning Herald.
One possibility is that they will make it a free weekly newspaper like Sport in London. Sport is distributed every Friday morning around London and while it has a broader focus than The Form, the free distribution model is one option available. The background material on their website provides a helpful insight into why they chose the free distribution model.
The UK Sports Journalists Association blog published a post April 19 about plans to launch Sportsnight, a free daily sports newspaper for London. This is an interesting and bold development – a daily (six days a week) sports newspaper.
This activity shows that the free newspaper distribution model is alive and well in niche areas. While Fairfax may have made some missteps with The Form yesterday, it shows them playing is a space which is working elsewhere. I would not be surprised to see them separate further from the SMH and pursue a broader audience.