The Telegraaf on Friday became the last Dutch newspaper to switch to tabloid format.

Trouw and the AD made the move in 2005, the Volkskrant ditched its broadsheet approach in 2010 and the NRC Handelsblad shifted in 2011.

The Telegraaf is the country’s biggest selling newspaper with a daily circulation of just under 500,000. The paper coupled the change to tabloid size with a major publicity offensive.

Also on Friday, the Telegraaf Media Groep launched a new version of freesheet Metro, following the decision to ditch stable mate Spits. TMG is increasing the print run of Metro, which it took over in 2012, to 510,000 copies a day.

The Netherlands used to have four free newspapers. DAG, set up by owner of the Volkskrant and AD, was launched in 2007 and folded in 2009. De Pers, an independent initiative, was first issued in 2006 but closed in 2012.