Desmond in battle with Packer

DAILY Express owner Richard Desmond is set to wage war with Australia's richest man, Kerry Packer, for a slice of the country's A$2.1bn (£808m) magazine market.

Desmond's Northern & Shell publishing company is to launch its celebrity magazine OK! in Australia as early as next month.

The first issue will have a print run of 130,000 copies. Northern & Shell is targeting a start-up circulation of 70,000 and readership of 280,000.

Northern & Shell Pacific, the Australian offshoot-set up by former Packer executive Andrew Cowell in April, will be used as a base to launch localised versions of OK! in the Asia-Pacific region. A Chinese edition of OK! has already been launched.

But media buyers suggest Northern & Shell, which will spend about A$6m to launch and market the new title, could be out-muscled in a segment that is already overcrowded.

Desmond will also have to contend with the might of Packer's magazine arm, Australian Consolidated Press, which accounts for about 47.2% of all magazines sold. ACP also captures about 45% of the A$800m (£308m) advertising market in Australia.

The celebrity end of the market is home to ACP's NW (New Weekly) magazine, one of Australia's fastest-growing magazines over recent years, and Time Inc's Who.

According to Nielsen Media Research, Who had revenues of A$6.8m (£2.6m) in the six months to 30 June, down 11.2% on the same period last year, while NW had A$5.2m in revenue, up 22.8%)

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