Free Czech dailies are seeing readership rise, while the country's top three largest paid titles are losing readers, Newspaper Innovation reported Wednesday.

According to the latest readership figures from Media Projekt 2007, free daily Metro saw readership go up from 387,000 to 393,000 in the last six months of 2007.

Metro is the fourth paper in the country after paid titles Blesk, MF Dnes and Právo, all of which lost readers, according to the figures, posted on Publicitas.

Blesk saw readership slow to 1,499,000 in 2007, from 1,548,000 in 2006. MF Dnes saw readership down to 1,116,000 in 2007 from 1,145,000 in 2006. Readership of Právo was down to 459,000 in the second half of 2007, from 498,000 the same period in 2006.

However, daily paid Aha! saw readership rise to 344,000, up from 286,000 in 2006. General interest quality daily Lidove Noviny also saw readership rise, to 236,000 in the second half of 2007,from 225,000 the year prior.

Ringier free daily 24 Hoden saw readership rise to 200,000 in the second half of 2007, up from 156,000 the year before. Metropolitní Expres had 202,000 readers, but was not audited in 2006.

German publisher Rheinische Post, which owns Metropolitní Expres, bought a majority of Czech Metro in December, according to Newspaper Innovation.