The promoters of the new freesheet for Dublin, Metro, claim to have distributed more than 53,000 copies of the first edition yesterday to young Dublin commuters.
Dart and Luas carriages were filled with copies of Metro and its rival, Herald AM, during the morning as the two papers battled to win the hearts and minds of young office workers who often ignore traditional mainstream newspapers.
Lee Thompson, managing director, Metro, said the paper had been distributed at 75 "high-density" locations with the help of 140 promotional staff. He said the response to the new product had surpassed all expectations.
"The paper was not foisted on anyone. We were targeting a very specific audience of those between 18 and 34, young working professionals," he said.
As was widely predicted, Independent News & Media also hit the streets with a new publication, known as Herald AM, yesterday. It is not known how large the print run was for Herald AM.
The Metro product has been a major success in markets around the world, and the Irish edition is owned by Associated Newspapers, The Irish Times Ltd and Swedish company Metro International.
Maeve Donovan, managing director of The Irish Times Ltd welcomed the venture, saying: "Dublin is the latest significant European city to make a daily edition of Metro available to its young urban professionals. The Irish Times has always believed in the need to embrace market change. We are forming a partnership with two very successful international publishers in bringing Metro - a publishing success story - to Ireland."
Advertisers welcomed the new product. Paul Moran, managing director of Mediaworks, a Dublin advertising agency, said he was "pleasantly surprised" by the paper. "I think this will hit the tabloids very hard, particularly because it has TV and cinema listings. It is also coming out at the right time, in the run up to Christmas," he said.
Asked would advertisers support the product, he replied that it would be a "slow burn".
"Like all new publications, it will take time to bed down. Based on my experience, the paper was not being discarded yesterday, so that is good news," he said.
Martin Stenson, managing director, Universal McCann, said: "With commuting Dubliners now getting their news for free, the impact will without doubt be felt by other papers. In the UK, the redtops have lost sales on the back of the Metro, and it is likely this trend will follow in Dublin."
Louise Fitzpatrick, from the Initiative advertising agency, said the performance of the Metro could only be judged when the readership statistics came out.
She said the concern about Herald AM concerned its damage to the existing title. "While Herald AM hopes to build on the reputation of the Evening Herald, it may actually have the opposite effect, damaging the credibility of the evening paper by offering a poorer imitation for free early in the morning," she said.
