It has become too expensive to distribute printed editions of newspapers to residents north of Broome, The West Australian says.

As of next week the West Australian, Tabform and Countryman will only be available online in Derby, Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Kununurra and Wyndham.

Readers in Bremer Bay in WA's south will also be affected by distribution changes.

However, the Kununurra-based Kimberley Echo will continue to be distributed in printed form.

The West Australian general manager of circulation and distribution Adam Everett said low volume and high costs meant it was no longer viable to send newspapers north of Broome.

"It's to do with the cost and it's also to do with the few services that actually suit our timeframe," he said.

"The services change regularly and unfortunately don't always fit in with our publishing schedules.

"For some time we've tried to find alternative services to get our newspapers to those remote regions but we've been unable to secure viable longer term alternatives."

Mr Everett said about 150 weekday newspapers were delivered in total to the five locations listed, while on Saturday it was about 200 papers.

'We haven't turned our back on the regions'

He said the decision had not been well received but that readers would be offered a discount on online subscription and a free tablet device.

"It hasn't been entirely positive, as we expected [but] we haven't turned our back on the regions," he said.

"The region is very difficult for businesses like us to sustain the ongoing costs.

"We're trying to provide the publication in a different format for our readers in that region. It's a very powerful offer that we're offering with a digital offer and free tablet."

West Australian Newspapers group editor-in-chief Bob Cronin said the decision made sense on a lot of fronts.

"It's a long way from the Perth centre to the Kimberley to be trucking papers," he said.

"It probably doesn't make economic sense, and we'll be able to deliver it to them in another form."

He said this way people can read the paper at 6:00am or whenever they want to, instead of having to wait until the newspaper arrives on a plane or truck.

The West Australian is owned by publicly-listed Seven West Media.

The newspaper aggressively slashed costs by 7.9 per cent last financial year in a bid to counter a dramatic revenue fall.

Newspaper revenue fell 12.4 per cent to $265.4 million, while earnings before interest and tax dropped 24 per cent.

Seven West Media, which also owns Channel 7 and Pacific Magazines, posted a profit of $149.2 million, well up on last year's $69.8 million loss.

The West Australian is the state's only local, statewide newspaper.