Editor Robert Thomson told staff in an e-mail that as of 1 June he would be moving the deadlines forward "to enable us to broaden our distribution network" for the tabloid edition.
Thomson said that the change would bring the tabloid edition to "potential readers" in Scotland, Wales and the West Country.
The paper is currently available in both formats in the Carlton, Anglia, Meridian, Central and Granada television regions, with tabloid sales of over 230,000. Times spokeswoman Janet Anderson would not comment on whether the paper planned to invest in new presses, but said: "We are always looking at opportunities for developing our equipment but we haven't made any decision on that."
The latest news also follows recent speculation that News International, which owns The Times, may be planning to move its print facility away from Wapping to a new 600m facility outside the M25 (PrintWeek, 20 May 2004.)
According to the latest ABC figures, The Times's compact edition, which launched in November last year, sells 234,251 copies, compared to 420,510 for the broadsheet.
This compares to sales of 225,240 for the compact edition of The Independent, which dropped its broadsheet edition entirely last month (www.printweek. com, 13 May 2004).
Story by Josh Brooks
