ABC National Newspaper Round-Up – April 2003

Month on month of analysis of the latest ABC figures show that the climax of the conflict in Iraq did little to boost the national newspaper market during April, with the sector seeing circulation remain virtually static at around 26.4 million.

The Daily Mirror suffered one of the sector’s most significant loses, with circulation slipping by 3.4% month on month to just above 1.9 million. Despite this decline, which is thought to be partially due to the paper’s hard-line anti-war stance, Trinity Mirror chairman, Sir Victor Blank, has announced that the Piers Morgan is to continue as editor of the title.

Other daily tabloid titles to see circulation decline during April include the People, which slipped by 0.4% month on month and the Sunday Sport, which saw circulation fall by 0.7% to 178,155. Even Richard Desmond’s Daily Star proved it is not immune to the downturn affecting the rest of the industry, with circulation dropping by 0.1% to 849,598.

However, things were more positive for the popular Sunday titles, with News International’s News Of The World recording a 1% month on month improvement during April and Trinity Mirror’s Sunday Mirror seeing its circulation increase by 1.2% during the same period.

Elsewhere, The Guardian saw circulation decline by 3.3% month on month to 398,778, while its closest broadsheet rival, The Independent, recorded an 0.8% increase during April to 225,630.

In the mid-market, the Sunday Express saw circulation rise by a healthy 3.8% to 945,076, while the Mail On Sunday recorded a 1% loss during the same period.

Quality Market

Only a handful of broadsheet titles saw circulation rise in the six months to April 2003. The Business recorded the sector’s most notable year on year percentage increase, with circulation improving by 26% to 94,079. This was followed by the Observer and the Guardian, which saw circulation improve by a respective 1.9% and 0.5% during April.

At the other end of the scale, The Daily Telegraph saw circulation decline by 6.7% year on year to 939,550, despite launching an £8 million marketing campaign to promote its recent redesign (see Daily Telegraph Launches Biggest Ever Outdoor Campaign). The Financial Times, which also recently began promoting its new look (see FT Pushes Redesign With £2 Million Branding Campaign), saw circulation slip by 6.4% year on year to 460,295.

Mid-Market

All of the mid-market titles saw circulation increase in the six months to April, with Richard Desmond’s Sunday Express recording a healthy 12.7% rise to 949,102, placing it just behind its daily sibling in terms of circulation. The Daily Mail and the Mail On Sunday saw circulation improve by 0.4% and 0.7% respectively during April.

Popular Market

The popularity of the Daily Star continued to increase during the six month to April 2003 and the title saw circulation increase by a notable 30.8% year on year to 822,525. News International’s Sun managed a 3.9% improvement during the same period, to just above 3.5 million and Racing Post saw circulation rise by 1.8% year on year to 81,479.

Sport First experienced the sector’s most notable decline, with circulation slipping by 52.8% year on year during the six month to April. However, losses were also felt at the more heavy-weight People and Sunday Mirror, which saw circulation slide by 15.4% and 7% respectively.

Metro Titles

Associated Newspaper’s daily freesheet, Metro, saw circulation improve by a notable 11.7% year on year in the lucrative London region. Circulation faltered in other regions during April, but this did not prevent the paper’s total circulation from increasing by 5.1% year on year to 879,575.

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