The Standard, a free tabloid with a mass market strategy, is the most widely circulated English newspaper by a significant margin.
Its rival, South China Morning Post, has the most paid subscribers among English-language papers in Hong Kong.
It had a feisty, tabloid style, concentrating on celebrity gossip and paparazzi photography, with sensationalist news reportage and a noted anti-government political position.
In September 2007, The Standard changed its business model from a traditional daily into a free-sheet, distributed in commercial districts like Central and Admiralty.
According to the HK Newspaper Hawkers Association, the situation lasted through to 2008, when around 10% of sellers maintained the cut price despite the change in the prevailing economic climate.