| Type | Dailyfree newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner | O’Rourke Media Group |
| Founded | January 24, 2000 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Website | www |
Metro is a free daily newspaper inPhiladelphia which began publishing on January 24, 2000.[1] Originally published byMetro International, it was the firstMetro edition published inNorth America and the ninth edition since the first in Stockholm in 1995. Since July 2025, it has been owned and published by O’Rourke Media Group.
Lawyers representing the publishers ofThe Philadelphia Inquirer,Philadelphia Daily News,USA Today andThe New York Times filed an action in Federal Court three days beforeMetro's first publication to block local transit authoritySEPTA from giving what they considered to be a competitive advantage toMetro.
SEPTA signed a five-year contract with TPI Metro. Part of the contract allows SEPTA to produce one page in each edition; however, aside from that page SEPTA has no control over any other aspect of the paper. The contract calls forMetro to pay $45,000 a month to SEPTA, which they stopped paying in March 2003, claiming SEPTA failed to live up to the terms of the contract.[2] Despite lawsuits and counter-suits, in 2004 TPI Metro PA and SEPTA signed a three-year contract which increased payments to $65,000 a month.
In 2009, Metro International sold its US papers to a former executive, who formed Metro US to oversee the papers.[3]
In March 2019, the paper eliminated three of its four general news staffers.[4] The paper was bought bySchneps Media from Metro US in December 2019. The paper's entire staff was laid off during the sale.[5] In July 2025, Schneps soldMetro Philadelphia, Metro.us and Philly Sports Network to O’Rourke Media Group.[6]