The i newspaper is to increase its cover price by 10p for the second time in a year, from 30p to 40p on weekdays and 40p to 50p on Saturdays.
The Independent’s sister title, which launched in October 2010, increased its weekday price up from 20p to 30p and weekend edition from 30p to 40p last February.
The i recorded a circulation of 280,351, which includes 62,894 bulk copies, last month according to ABC. This was down 6 per cent year on year.
According to ABC, the newspaper’s average circulation was 300,110 last February, before its 10p price rise. In March, its circulation fell to 292,801.
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In an editorial announcing the price change, which takes effect from Monday, i editor Oliver Duff said: “I know this won’t be popular – none of us wants to pay more for anything. But I wanted to explain to you in good time why we needed to take the decision, and to ask for your support.
“i launched in October 2010 in the aftermath of a recession, the first new national title for 24 years. There are a lot of reasons it could have failed. Instead, it succeeded because of your generosity – not just putting your hand in your pocket but writing to tell us what you enjoy and dislike, allowing the voice of i’s readership to shape this paper’s direction and content.
"That conversation continues, and its fruits sit before you every morning. You are now a political force to be reckoned with: ahead of i’s first general election, Britain’s political leaders want to reach i readers, as you saw with the Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last week. Our commitment to you is to graft ever-harder to improve the paper and to maintain consistently high standards of journalism.
“The challenging nature of the news industry will not have escaped you. When we first launched, we lost a lot of money, but our generous owners and commercial partners – encouraged by readers – have backed i. Over the past few years we have been working hard to put the business on a firmer financial footing. We want i to have a bright future, and a price rise would help us to cover rising costs, reduce annual losses, and invest again in the paper.”
The i remains the UK’s cheapest daily national newspaper (see below).
Daily national newspaper prices: Daily price, Saturday price
Financial Times: £2.50, £3
The Guardian: £1.60, £2.50
The Daily Telegraph: £1.40, £2
The Independent: £1.40, £1.80
The Times: £1.20, £1.50
Daily Mail: 60p, 90p
Daily Express: 55p, 85p
Daily Mirror: 55p, 80p
The Sun: 40p, 60p
Daily Star: 40p, 60p
i: 40p, 50p
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