KOS Media was a multimedia company based in the county of
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
in
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshi ...
. The company operated local newspapers and internet sites throughout the county.
History
KOS Media's first newspaper, the ''
Kent on Sunday'' was launched as a free newspaper in 2002 and closed in November 2017. The company was based in
Smeeth, near
Ashford.
Until May 2009 all KOS Media newspapers were free. In June both ''Kent on Saturday'' and ''Kent on Sunday'' became paid for in the newsagents, to increase availability, whilst the free copies were diverted to business rounds and home delivery. The mid-week local papers remained free. All titles have a fast-growing online audience as they are available free as a page-turning e-edition, or by subscription online.
KOS Media was purchased by
Archant
Archant Limited is a newspaper and magazine publishing company headquartered in Norwich, England. The group publishes four daily newspapers, around 50 weekly newspapers, and 80 consumer and contract magazines.
Archant employs around 1,250 empl ...
in June 2010, having had had a minority interest in KOS Media since 2005.
Newspapers
Free newspapers
In the summer of 2007 KOS Media introduced free, local papers for different parts of Kent, with three more added in 2009. These were published on Wednesdays and ceased publication in January 2011.
2007 launches
* ''Kent on Saturday''
* ''yourashford''
* ''yourcanterbury''
* ''yourdover''
* ''yourmaidstone''
* ''yourmedway''
* ''yourshepway''
* ''yourswale''
* ''yourthanet''
2009 launches
* ''yourdeal''
* ''yoursandwich''
* ''your Tunbridge Wells''
Magazines
KOS Media publishes magazines accompanying its paid for papers, such as the "Kent Weekend" entertainment and leisure guide. It also publishes ''Isle Magazine'' (published quarterly for the
Isle of Thanet
The Isle of Thanet () is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island.
Archaeological remains testify to its settlement in an ...
); and ''BBC Radio Kent County Life'' for the BBC. This caused a complaint against KOS Media and the BBC by rival group the
KM Group.
Television
KOS Media operates the YourKentTV internet television channel.
The channel features local news and sport, and videos both sent in by viewers and provided by the company.
References
External links
KentNews, the KOS Media's flagship site, closed November 2017YourKentTV
{{Archant
Newspaper companies of England
Mass media in Kent
Mass media companies established in 2002
Companies based in Kent
Mass media companies of England
2002 establishments in England