NRS National Newspaper Round-Up – July 2002
NRS figures for the February to July period in 2002 reveal a mixed picture for newspaper readership. The overall number of people reading newspapers remains fairly static, with a 0.3% growth compared to the same period last year.
Despite the frenzy surrounding the tabloid price war between The Sun and the Mirror, NRS figures reveal more activity in the broadsheet market. The biggest increase was made by the Guardian which was seen up 25.7% year-on-year, increasing its readership by 280,000. Its sister publication the Observer also performed well, increasing its readership by 170,000 from the same period last year, a 14.9% increase. However black spots in an otherwise bright market for broadsheets were provided by the two Independent titles; The Independent‘s readership shrunk by 60,000 year on year, while the Independent on Sunday suffered from a 3.4% decline from the same period in 2001. The Financial Times also lost readers, slipping 3.7% year on year.
February to July 2002’s NRS Figures painted a less impressive picture for the tabloid market, with the Mirror, The Sun, News of the World and the Sunday Mirror all declining. The Mirror saw the tabloid sector’s biggest decline, falling 6.2% year on year. The recently relaunched “serious” tabloid lost 366,000 readers when compared with the same period last year. However, The Daily Star, which has remained on the sidelines during the recent tabloid price war, has increased its readership by 10.5%, adding 165,000 from the same period last year.
| National Newspaper NRS Figures – July 2002 | ||||
| Title | Feb-Jul 01 | Feb-Jul 02 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Daily Express | 1,970,000 | 2,072,000 | 102,000 | 5.2 |
| Daily Mail | 5,757,000 | 5,804,000 | 47,000 | 0.8 |
| Daily Mirror | 5,866,000 | 5,500,000 | -366,000 | -6.2 |
| Daily Record | 1,535,000 | 1,609,000 | 74,000 | 4.8 |
| Daily Star | 1,578,000 | 1,743,000 | 165,000 | 10.5 |
| Daily Telegraph | 2,221,000 | 2,398,000 | 177,000 | 8.0 |
| Financial Times | 619,000 | 596,000 | -23,000 | -3.7 |
| Guardian | 1,090,000 | 1,370,000 | 280,000 | 25.7 |
| Independent | 660,000 | 600,000 | -60,000 | -9.1 |
| Independent On Sunday | 647,000 | 625,000 | -22,000 | -3.4 |
| Mail On Sunday | 5,854,000 | 5,908,000 | 54,000 | 0.9 |
| News Of The World | 10,191,000 | 9,936,000 | -255,000 | -2.5 |
| Observer | 1,138,000 | 1,308,000 | 170,000 | 14.9 |
| Sun | 9,428,000 | 9,413,000 | -15,000 | -0.2 |
| Sunday Express | 2,184,000 | 2,084,000 | -100,000 | -4.6 |
| Sunday Mirror | 5,692,000 | 5,449,000 | -243,000 | -4.3 |
| Sunday People | 3,161,000 | 3,065,000 | -96,000 | -3.0 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 2,020,000 | 2,079,000 | 59,000 | 2.9 |
| Sunday Times | 3,055,000 | 3,288,000 | 233,000 | 7.6 |
| Times | 1,643,000 | 1,649,000 | 6,000 | 0.4 |
| Total | 66,309,000 | 66,496,000 | 187,000 | 0.3 |
Subscribers can access the latest NRS data by selecting “Press” from the drop down box at the top of this page.