Independent’s i to launch Saturday edition

The Independent’s cut-price stablemate i is set to launch on Saturdays from 7 May.

Editor in chief Simon Kelner said in his editor’s letter today that he has “lost count” of the number of readers who have asked for a Saturday edition of the title.

Describing how it will be different from the Monday to Friday edition he said: “Well, all the things you like about our weekday edition – plus the letter from the editor – will be there. But, in addition, there will be plenty more in your complete, concise companion to the weekend.

“A special section of the paper we’re calling ‘Leisure and Pleasure’ will focus on just that, everything from food to travel, gardening to fashion, opera to style. There’ll be more sport, more interviews, a weekend TV guide and advice on personal finance from our experts. All done, of course, with the accent on i’s trademark quality and brevity.

“There will be extra games and diversions (including the codeword puzzle you’ve been asking for), and all this, in one fun-packed section of 64 pages, will cost just 30p. What value!”

The Independent’s slimmed-down 20p edition launched in October with the stated aim of appealing to people who no longer buy newspapers. And anecdotally it seems to succeeded at that, while not being so successful that a rival publisher has yet felt it necessary to bring out a spoiler publication.

Sales of i in March were slightly down month-on-month at 171,415.

Meanwhile, the main Independent is turning into a part-free, part paid-for hybrid as its ABC certificate shows. Out if its headline 181,934 ABC figure – some 73,810 copies were bulk give-aways.