The Friday will mark the first time TMG, the publisher of The Daily Telegraph, has launched a free title, which will have a distribution of 150,000 copies and be handed out in the afternoon at 25 UK railway stations, including some in London.
The tabloid-sized Telegraph-branded newspaper, with a pagination of 16 pages, will run for six weeks, debuting on 7 August. But TMG, which has linked up with Diageo-owned Gordon's as the exclusive sponsor for the project, has not ruled out establishing it as a regular product.
The Friday, which will also be distributed free with Friday's issue of The Daily Telegraph, will be feature and lifestyle-focused, as opposed to news-led, including content on food, home, lifestyle, trends and fashion.
TMG says the title, which will be handed out by sampling and distribution firm SimplySimply, is aimed at high-spending women and men aged between 30 and 55. The Daily Telegraph's circulation in May was 836,410, down 3% year on year.
The deal, estimated to be worth in excess of £1m, has been brokered by Aegis media agency Carat, which numbers both Diageo and TMG among its clients.
Stand-alone copies of The Friday will be distributed in the afternoons and, in London, will compete for readers with News International-owned thelondonpaper and Associated's London Lite. But, according to sources, The Friday is aimed at an older, more upwardly mobile audience.
The Telegraph has teamed up with Gordon's before, including last year's content-led Definitive Guides to music and fashion and a two-for-one deal on gin and tonic for readers.
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