Free papers started in Scandinavia.
Advertisers are interested in middle class audiences of rich countries that traditional newspapers do not reach, except in countries like USA were local papers are still the last mass medium available.
That is the reason that you do not see successfull free newspapers in the USA or less developed countries.
In Brazil they are announcing the first major free daily newspaper…
I am sorry, but it will fail.
Spain is a great example: paid newspapers reach the top of the market (A+B classes).
Free papers are booming in Spain because there was a huge quite affluentt middle class that did not read newspapers at all, and one day they were offeredd with well done free papers that today have almost the same circulation of the paid newspapers (4 million copies vs 4 million copies).
The most interesting fact is that they are not competing against the paid papers. There has been no cannibalization.
Of course, I believe that only two of these 4 national free papers will survive, but only because there is not enough advertising for all of them.