NRS National Newspaper Round-Up: August 2005
Daily Newspaper Market
Quality titles saw the only increase in readership during the six months to August, with the Guardian, Independent and Times all bucking the trend for decline to add double figure percentage growth year on year.
The Guardian performed particularly well, adding 23.4% year on year. The newspaper will be expecting similarly positive figures in the future, as August was its last full month in broadsheet format.
The paper’s new Berliner size was introduced in September (see Guardian Hits Newsstands In Berliner Format), making an immediately positive impact on sales (see Berliner Guardian Sees 40% Increase In Sales) and drawing praise from many for its updated design and full colour printing.
Elsewhere, both the daily mid market and popular sectors have seen declines across the board, with the Daily Mirror posting the largest decline in readership – down 19.7% year on year.
Quality Daily Titles
The nation’s quality titles saw a mixed performance year on year in the six months to August, with sizeable increases in readership reported by the Guardian, Independent and Times, while the Daily Telegraph and Financial Times saw their totals decline.
Market leader, the Daily Telegraph, saw a decline of just 2% year on year, pushing the paper’s total readership down to 2.19 million. The title remains at the top of the quality sector, although the Times is beginning to erode its lead, with the compact paper’s readership now at 1.88 million, thanks to a 12.8% increase, just 305,000 behind the top spot.
Elsewhere the Independent performed well year on year in the six months to August, adding 14.1% to see readership total 696,000.
The Financial Times saw the largest decline amongst Britain’s quality titles, shedding 28.4% of its readership year on year.
Mid Market Daily Titles
The UK’s daily mid market looked distinctly down in the mouth during August, with both the Daily Express and Daily Mail losing readership.
The titles shed 3.8% and 1.9% of their totals respectively, with the Express’ readership now totaling 1.95 million, while the Daily Mail commands 5.56 million.
Popular Daily Titles
Britain’s daily popular market looked similarly depressed in the six months to August, with all titles suffering readership decline. The Daily Mirror was the worst hit, with a 19.7% decline in readers year on year leaving the paper with a total of 3.92 million.
Elsewhere the Mirror’s arch rival the Sun was also hit, losing 11.8% of its readership year on year. The title remains Britain’s best read daily newspaper, however, with a total readership of 8.04 million.
The Daily Record and Daily Star saw similar declines, although their downturns were less drastic, with declines of 4.2% and 10.6% respectively year on year. The papers now command totals of 1.29 million and 1.82 million.
| National Newspaper NRS Figures – August 2005 | ||||
| Daily Titles | Mar 04-Aug 04 | Mar 05-Aug 05 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Quality | ||||
| Daily Telegraph | 2,232,000 | 2,187,000 | -45,000 | -2.0 |
| Financial Times | 464,000 | 332,000 | -132,000 | -28.4 |
| Guardian | 985,000 | 1,215,000 | 230,000 | 23.4 |
| Independent | 610,000 | 696,000 | 86,000 | 14.1 |
| Times | 1,668,000 | 1,882,000 | 214,000 | 12.8 |
| Mid Market | ||||
| Daily Express | 2,027,000 | 1,950,000 | -77,000 | -3.8 |
| Daily Mail | 5,671,000 | 5,562,000 | -109,000 | -1.9 |
| Popular | ||||
| Daily Mirror | 4,875,000 | 3,917,000 | -958,000 | -19.7 |
| Daily Record | 1,346,000 | 1,290,000 | -56,000 | -4.2 |
| Daily Star | 2,037,000 | 1,822,000 | -215,000 | -10.6 |
| Sun | 9,108,000 | 8,036,000 | -1,072,000 | -11.8 |
| Total Daily | 31,023,000 | 28,889,000 | -2,134,000 | -6.9 |
Sunday Newspaper Market
Britain’s Sunday newspaper market looked more upbeat than its weekday counterpart in the six months to August, with rises in readership reported across the board in the quality sector, while the Mail on Sunday put in an increase to provide a glimmer of hope to an otherwise glum mid market.
The popular sector continued to look depressed, however, with double digit percentage decreases in readership for all titles. The People was worst hit, with a 17.8% downturn costing the paper 426,000 readers in real terms. This was exceeded by the News of the World, however, which shed 1.39 million readers, or 14%, year on year.
Quality Sunday Titles
The Sunday quality market looked upbeat in the six months to August, with all four weekend titles recording rises in readership.
The Independent on Sunday put in the strongest performance, adding 18.4% to its readership year on year. The title, which will publish in tabloid format from next weekend (see Independent On Sunday To Make Tabloid Switch), now commands a total of 764,000 but remains at the bottom of the quality Sunday table.
The Observer, which is also due to downsize in the future (see Guardian Launches Compact On September 12), performed similarly well in adding 17.8% to its readership. The paper’s total now stands at 1.25 million.
Elsewhere the Sunday Times notched up an 11.2% increase year on year, retaining its position as the best-read quality Sunday title, while the Sunday Telegraph added 0.2% in the same period to avoid readership decline and total 2.06 million.
Mid Market Sunday Titles
The Mail on Sunday’s addition of 2% to its readership year on year gives the paper a total of 6.32 million, while the Sunday Express was less fortunate in the six months to August, shedding 0.7% to push its readership total down to 2.15 million.
Popular Sunday Titles
The popular market saw continued readership decline in the six months to August, with the People bearing the brunt of the downturn. The paper lost 17.8% from its total year on year, which now stands at 1.96 million.
Elsewhere, the News of the World shed 14% of its readership, equating to a massive departure of 1.39 million readers year on year. The title remains the nation’s best-read Sunday newspaper, however, with a total readership of 8.55 million.
Meanwhile, the Daily Star Sunday lost 15.1% of its readership year on year, pushing its readership down to 1.02 million. The Sunday Mirror fared better than its weekend rivals, but suffered a loss of 11.1% year on year nonetheless.
| National Newspaper NRS Figures – August 2005 | ||||
| Sunday Titles | Mar 04-Aug 04 | Mar 05-Aug 05 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Quality | ||||
| Independent On Sunday. | 645,000 | 764,000 | 119,000 | 18.4 |
| Observer | 1,061,000 | 1,250,000 | 189,000 | 17.8 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 2,060,000 | 2,064,000 | 4,000 | 0.2 |
| Sunday Times | 3,181,000 | 3,536,000 | 355,000 | 11.2 |
| Mid Market | ||||
| Mail On Sunday. | 6,198,000 | 6,323,000 | 125,000 | 2.0 |
| Sunday Express | 2,161,000 | 2,145,000 | -16,000 | -0.7 |
| Popular | ||||
| Daily Star Sunday. | 1,196,000 | 1,016,000 | -180,000 | -15.1 |
| News Of The World | 9,935,000 | 8,547,000 | -1,388,000 | -14.0 |
| People | 2,389,000 | 1,963,000 | -426,000 | -17.8 |
| Sunday Mirror | 4,999,000 | 4,442,000 | -557,000 | -11.1 |
| Total Sunday | 33,825,000 | 32,050,000 | -1,775,000 | -5.2 |
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