ABC National Newspaper Round-Up – December 2004

The majority of national newspapers saw their circulations decline in December, with only two daily titles managing an increase, according to the latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Both the Daily Express and the Financial Times saw modest circulation increases over their totals for November, although neither title managed to break the 1% mark, with the Daily Express adding 0.7% to a total of 898,697 while the FT added 0.6% in the same period to push its total to 427,808.

Elsewhere both the Times and the Independent saw declines, losing 4.3% and 3.7% of their circulation respectively. The Times now commands a circulation of 652,442 while the Independent trails substantially at 252,552.

Both titles also saw circulation declines for their Sunday sister titles, with the Sunday Times echoing its weekday counterpart’s 4.3 downturn while the Independent on Sunday mirrored the Independent in shedding 3.7%. The weekend editions now command total circulations of 1.3 million and 204,358 respectively.

However, not all Sunday titles were in decline during December, with the Daily Star Sunday adding an impressive 11.6% to its total. The paper’s circulation now stands at 521,869, with the latest increase pushing it above the half million mark.

Elsewhere Sunday sporting title Football First saw a healthy 5.9% increase on November’s total, pushing its overall circulation to just over 28,000. The People also managed to stay out of the red, albeit narrowly, adding 0.1% to give a total of just over 932,000.

Amongst the mid market titles, the Daily Mail suffered during December, seeing 3.5% shaved off its total circulation, however, the daily title fared better than the Mail on Sunday, which saw circulation nosedive by 7.8%. The papers now command totals of 2.3 million and 2.3 million respectively.

The nation’s popular titles were also affected by the circulation downturn, with News International’s Sun shedding 1.8% of its total to sit at 3.2 million, while arch-rival the Daily Mirror lost 2.7% in the same period, leaving it with a total of 1.7 million.

Quality Titles

Both the Independent and the Times performed well in the quality market, adding 15% and 4.3% to their circulations year on year in the six months to December. The papers’s total circulations now sit at a healthy 261,801 and 658,182.

There were no other circulation increases in the quality market during December, with all other titles struggling against a trend of decline. The Independent on Sunday managed to remain steady, holding its circulation at 212,375, meanwhile the Sunday Times suffered a downturn of 1.7% to just over 1.3 million.

Mid-Market

Daily mid-market titles suffered declines in the six months to December, with both the Daily Express and the Daily Mail losing 3.9% and 2.3% respectively. The sector’s Sunday titles were more fortunate, however, with the Mail on Sunday adding 1% while the Sunday Express added a respectable 4.2%.

Popular Titles

There were declines across the board in the popular sector, with the Sunday Sport leading the way, losing 14.1% of its circulation year on year in the six months to December. The title’s total now rests at 156,261.

Elsewhere another Sunday title, the People, was also hard hit, losing 9% in the same period and seeing its circulation fall below the psychologically important 1 million mark. The title’s circulation now totals 989,772. The Daily Star Sunday was the third Sunday title to see a decline shedding 7.2% to push its overall circulation down to 491,281.

Amongst the nation’s daily popular titles the Sun saw a decline of 4.4% to push total circulation down to just over 3.3 million. Meanwhile the Daily Mirror lost 8.4% to 1.7 million.

Metro Titles

Associated Newspapers’ Metro titles continued to expand during December, adding 4.5% to their total certified distribution, with only Metro North West and Metro Scotland suffering declines.

The newspaper now enjoys a total distribution of just under 940,000, with London leading the distribution increases, adding 8.9% year on year in December.

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