Friday 27 October spells the end of an era. Today for the very last time the free newspaper Metro will be available in print at railway stations, metro stations and some other locations used by commuters. The paper was launched in Belgium 23 years ago in a Dutch and French version. Since then it has become the daily read of many thousands of commuters on their way to work.
Culture
The end of the line for the Metro freesheet in Belgium
Published:
A fall in advertising revenue has forced the Rossel publishing group to axe the newspaper. Metro’s Belgian website will continue until the end of the year. For many commuters it has been part of their daily routine to pick up a copy of Metro before they get on the train. From today this will become a thing of the past. The paper version of the free newspaper is ceasing publication, while Metro’s will continue to exist until January 2024.
VRT News asked rail commuters what they though about the end of the print version of the Metro newspaper. ,"It's nicer to read it on paper. I'm going to miss it”, one commuter said.
"It is a small newspaper with short articles. You quickly catch up with the most important news and at the same time it also contained a lot of fun things too", another commuter told VRT News. Just about everyone we asked thought that it is a shame that the free newspaper has reached the end of the line.
Speaking on VRT Radio 1’s morning news and current affairs programme ‘De ochtend’ the CEO of the company that publishes Metro, Olivier De Raeymaeker said “The issue is not about readership. According to the latest figures, 770,000 people read Metro every day. The problem is with the advertising market. Advertising is the only income for Metro and there is no longer sufficient advertising revenue for it to be profitable."
Mr De Raeymaeker added that prior to the coronavirus pandemic Metro was very profitable, “Some years more than others, but COVID has had a major impact on the advertising market. The distribution of the newspaper to its readership is also very dependent on them travelling. People working from home has had an impact on this. We had good hopes for 2022, but the entire advertising market continues to struggle."
Kiss & Ride
One of the most popular sections in Metro is undoubtedly "Kiss & Ride". "I always enjoyed reading that," said one of the commuters we spoke to this morning. In that section, readers can leave messages for each other. Metro itself describes it as "a kind of Tinder avant la lettre".
"There are very nice stories about ‘Kiss & Ride. We usually don't know the details, but it certainly has played a role in people’s relationships. We know that section is well read. It was an important part of Metro", Mr De Raeyamaeker told the VRT.