Flagship Regional Titles Record Falling Circulations
The Manchester Evening News retains its position as the country’s biggest-selling regional newspaper, despite a 2.5% dip in its circulation base. Most flagship regional titles reported declining circulations in the latest figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) this week.
The steepest fall came from the Belfast Telegraph, which now has new parents following its sale to Independent News & Media (see Trinity Mirror Sells Belfast Telegraph To Independent). It lost almost 8% of its circulation base in the six month period to the end of June, or almost 10,000 sales.
The Birmingham Evening Mail, at third place in the top ten titles, is again reporting after being suspended by the ABC last period following the discovery that it was reporting false circulation figures.
For the first time an “actively purchased” field has been include in the ABC figures data for Paid Regional Newspapers. This is derived from the existing categories as those deemed to have been actively bought as single copies.
| Top 10 Regional Newspapers By Circulation | ||||
| Title | Jan 00 – Jun 00 | Jan 00 – Jun 00 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Manchester Evening News (Mon-Fri) | 180,518 | 176,051 | -4,467 | -2.5 |
| Liverpool Echo (Mon-Fri) | 160,725 | 155,848 | -4,877 | -3.0 |
| Birmingham Evening Mail (Mon-Fri) | n/a | 136,743 | n/a | n/a |
| Irish Times (Dublin) | 112,623 | 116,061 | 3,438 | 3.1 |
| Belfast Telegraph | 124,724 | 114,961 | -9,763 | -7.8 |
| Leicester Mercury (inc Job Finder) | 116,323 | 114,205 | -2,118 | -1.8 |
| Newcastle Evening Chronicle (Mon-Fri) | 111,178 | 107,346 | -3,832 | -3.4 |
| Glasgow – Evening Times (Mon-Fri) | 112,333 | 106,839 | -5,494 | -4.9 |
| Evening Herald (Dublin) | 110,507 | 106,726 | -3,781 | -3.4 |
| Sunday Mercury (Birmingham) | n/a | 105,556 | n/a | n/a |
| Source: ABC | ||||
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