News Corp. Buys 2 Groups of Weekly Papers

NEWS CORP BUYS 2 GROUPS OF WEEKLY PAPERS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Maria Aspan]
The News Corporation, owner of The New York Post, has broadened its metropolitan-area presence with the acquisition of two newspaper groups that have 28 weekly papers primarily serving Queens and Brooklyn. With the move, News Corporation is increasing its reach to the boroughs outside Manhattan and the minority populations that have been strongholds of its main competitor, The Daily News. While the price of the acquisition was not disclosed, someone close to the deal but not authorized to speak about the matter said News Corporation paid $16 million for the two operations: the TimesLedger and Courier-Life newspaper groups. TimesLedger publishes 16 weekly newspapers in Queens with a total circulation of 50,000, including The Flushing Times, Astoria Times and Glen Oaks Ledger, according to the News Corporation. Courier-Life publishes 11 Brooklyn newspapers with a total circulation of 90,000, including Bay News, Brooklyn Heights Courier and Flatbush Life, the company said. Courier-Life also publishes Caribbean Life, which has a circulation of 105,000 across the five boroughs and Westchester and Nassau Counties. The New York Post has average daily circulation of 673,000, according to the latest figures available from the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Average daily circulation of The Daily News is 708,000.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/28/business/media/28paper.html
(requires registration)