Who Really Made Money In Expenses-Gate?

June 13, 2009 at 7:28 pm

Not being a reader of the Grauniad I’m grateful for a nod in the direction of this article by Peter Wilby:

“The Telegraph group, by my calculations, probably sold an average 60,000 full-price papers a day (including Sundays) that it would not otherwise have sold, taking into account that, on previous market trends, circulation might have dropped.

The group may already have netted, on a conservative estimate, an extra £600,000 in sales revenue. Even if it paid £300,000 for the MPs’ files – some accounts put the figure much lower – it is handsomely in profit, without allowing for enhanced advertising.”

TheEye (or to be more accurate now HMTGMDAEASEMOA) will continue with the Telegraph and Times each day but Telegraph Editor Will Lewis will be hoping that many of these new readers will stick around after the scandal dies down.

Even if the details did cost the full £300,000 then it may yet turn out to be a very sound long term investment for ongoing circulation figures.