ABC National Newspaper Round-Up – June 2004

The recent Euro 2004 football championships did little to boost sales of the UK’s national tabloid titles during June, despite extensive coverage of England’s nail-biting journey to the quarter finals and ensuing exit from the tournament at the hands of host nation Portugal.

Major sporting events such as the European Championships and the World Cup tend to lift newspaper circulations, especially those of the tabloids. However, the latest ABC results for June reveal a 0.7% decline for the Daily Mirror and a 0.4% dip for the Sun.

The popular Sunday titles also fared poorly with Sunday Mirror dropping by 2.6% and News of the World slipping by 2.9% to just over 3.7 million. Their lacklustre performance could be due to extensive Euro 2004 television coverage, or the fact that more people that ever before turned to the web for analysis and reaction (see Euro 2004 Tournament Attracts Record Online Audiences).

Meanwhile, things were more positive for the Times, which saw circulation rise by a solid 1.4% during June to 661,330 as research revealed that its recently launched compact edition is proving successful in attracting new readers and boosting brand loyalty (see Compact Times Proves Successful In Attracting New Readers).

The Independent’s tabloid incarnation also continued to prove popular with its target audience of upmarket commuters. The title saw circulation inch up by 0.2% month on month to 261,575 as readers welcomed the decision to permanently ditch the traditional broadsheet format.

The Guardian continued to be hit by the popularity of its compact rivals, which prompted the title to see circulation decline by 0.2% during June to 388,584. However, the paper’s parent group recently approved a £50 million investment to relaunch it in a new smaller format (see Guardian Takes Titles Compact With £50 Million Investment).

Things remained relatively quiet in the mid-market during June with Richard Desmond’s Daily Express seeing circulation rise by a healthy 2.1% month on month to 938,525. The Daily Mail faltered with a 0.7% decline during the same period to 2,405,499.

Quality Titles

The Business saw circulation increase by an impressive 155% to 248,441 in the six months to June as it continued to feel the benefits of its recently ended distribution deal with the Mail on Sunday. The Independent also performed well with circulation rising by 15.7% to 257,721 during the same period. However, the Telegraph and the Guardian proved less fortunate with circulation dipping by 1.5% and 5.1% respectively.

Mid-Market Titles

The mid-market titles put in a mixed performance in the six months to June with Richard Desmond’s Daily Express and its Sunday sibling seeing circulation rise by 0.1% and 1.2% respectively in year on year analysis. The Daily Mail dipped by 0.7% during the period and the Mail on Sunday slipped by 0.6%.

Popular Titles

The Daily Star was the only tabloid title to see circulation increase in the six months to June, with a solid 5.5% rise to just under the 200,000 mark. The Daily Mirror dipped by 5.3% during the same period and News International’s Sun slipped by 4.5% to 3,365,944. However, Sport First was the worst hit with circulation dipping by 11.3% in year on year analysis to 25,597. The Sunday Sport also performed poorly with sales declining by 10.9% during the same period to 160,829.

Metro Titles

The Associated Newspaper-owned Metro titles continued to perform strongly with their overall certified distribution rising by 4.9% year on year during June to 930,808. However, the Metro brand looks set to face a significant channlenge in the form of Richard Desmond’s planned London freesheet, which will be called i.

Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive