Evening Standard axes Hot Tickets

LONDON - The Evening Standard is to axe its six-year-old weekly listings magazine Hot Tickets and replace it with weekly magazine Metrolife in the latest shake-up under new editor Veronica Wadley.

The 96-page magazine, which debuts tomorrow September 19, combines the Metrolife section from Associated Newspapers daily freesheet Metro with a new celebrity focus.

The Standard aims to ape the success of Emap's Heat magazine and new launch Closer, by dedicating the first 10 pages of the weekly to celebrity news in a section called Hot Stuff.

The revamp of the Hot Tickets section, which was launched to take on Time Out London, comes amid a raft of departures at the paper as Wadley attempts to boost flagging circulation.

Earlier this week, Evening Standard features editor Bernice Davison became the latest high-profile member of editorial staff to leave the paper. Executive editor Guy Eaton, a former long-time Daily Mail journalist who Wadley brought with her when she moved from the mid-market tabloid to edit the Standard, has been promoted to features editor.

TV and radio listings will not be a feature of the new Metrolife, because Associated says the title is about going out and not staying in.

Mike Anderson, the recently appointed managing director of the Evening Standard, said: "This is an extremely exciting venture and a smart marketing move for the business. Through our continual investment in London we've created a market for a brand new entertainment."

Like its predecessor, Metrolife will be distributed free every Thursday with the Evening Standard. It is to be edited by Mark Booker, the current editor of Hot Tickets.

Associated has boosted Metrolife's editorial line-up by poaching Robert Johnstone, current editor of the Sunday Times Style magazine, as consultant editor.

Previous editorial contributors to Hot Tickets will now write for Metrolife, including Alexander Walker on films, Brian Sewell on arts, Fay Maschler and Charles Campion on restaurants and Ed Sullivan on pubs and bars.

The new launch has signed up a raft of high-profile advertisers for the first issue, including Coca-Cola, Baileys, Tio Pepe, Puma, Vauxhall Corsa, Mini, Becks and Warner Music.

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