TORSTAR, CANWEST AND METRO FORM JOINT VENTURE AND LAUNCH METRO VANCOUVER

Metro International S.A. (“Metro”), the international newspaper group, today announced that Torstar Corporation, CanWest Global Communications Corp. and Metro International S.A. have formed a joint venture to publish English-language free daily newspapers in various Canadian cities. Each company will have a 33.3% interest in the new venture.

The venture will commence with today’s launch of Metro Vancouver. The free daily is specifically designed to capture top news items in a fast and easy-to-read format for commuters. Metro Vancouver will be distributed free of charge through street samplers and 2,500 boxes situated in high-traffic locations including transit stops, university campuses and highly populated business districts. Initial daily distribution for the Greater Vancouver Area will be 145,000, with plans to increase circulation to 160,000. To date, Metro in Canada (including Metro Toronto and Metro Montreal) boasts a weekly readership of 1,295,000, and continues to show double-digit growth each year. Pelle Törnberg, President and CEO of Metro International SA, commented: “This new joint venture between ‘first class’ media companies in Canada is an exciting opportunity to leverage the global Metro brand in this important market and to enhance our strong position in Northern America. Vancouver is a vibrant and dynamic city with a strong youth-oriented and professional population which makes it a perfect addition to the Metro family.” “We are delighted to extend our current relationship with Metro International to include CanWest as we launch our free daily newspaper, Metro, in Vancouver,” said Robert Prichard, President and CEO of Torstar Corporation, which has a 50% interest in Metro Toronto. “Together, we will deliver an exciting alternative for readers, building on the success we have had in Toronto. We also expect our new partnership will launch new editions of Metro in other Canadian cities in the months and years ahead. By combining the resources and skills of our three companies, we will add a new voice in Vancouver and provide an important new vehicle to advertisers.” “Rick Camilleri, President of CanWest MediaWorks, which has an equal share of the joint venture, said “Metro is a natural complement to the CanWest MediaWorks portfolio of assets, especially in Vancouver, a city that will undoubtedly embrace the Metro concept and product. We’re excited about creating this unique joint venture with Torstar, one of the leading newspaper publishers in Canada, and with Metro, which in a very short period of time has created a leading international newspaper brand.” The unique format of the Metro publication and its extensive reach delivers a new generation of premium audience to advertisers. A majority of Metro’s readership is between the ages of 18 to 49. More than half of Metro readers have a combined household income of over $50,000. Advertising sales for Metro International have grown at a compounded annual rate of 47% since the launch of the first edition in 1995. Metro Vancouver is the third Metro publication to be launched in Canada, and follows on the heels of the highly successful Metro editions in Toronto and Montreal. For further information, please visit www.metro.lu, email info@metro.lu or contact: Pelle Törnberg, President & CEO tel: +44 (0) 20 7016 1300 Henrik Persson, Corporate Communications tel: +46 (0) 8 562 000 87