The NRS, headed by chief executive Mike Ironside, is looking at a number of options, under the working title of "distributive on the street", with market research group Ipsos.
Free men's magazine ShortList joined the NRS last year in a bid to enhance its status with media buyers. But, like free business title CityAM, it has been unable to achieve a minimum sample of 175 respondents in the readership survey, so the NRS has been unable to publish an estimate, despite ShortList having a UK distribution of more than 510,000.
The new tool is in its embryonic stage. It would bracket free titles together, using a new methodology, separate from paid-for magazines and newspapers. Justin Barns, media director at Carat, said: "Monitoring freesheets is still an issue and there have been questions over the number of younger urban audiences included in the survey and a bias toward an older demographic."
London Lite and thelondonpaper already have a published NRS figure, although the latter has previously complained about the methodology.
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