Tabloid Sales Down As Mid Market Takes A Tumble

The latest figures from ABC show the nation’s popular newspapers shedding sales across the board in April, with the Daily Star worst hit, losing 9.5% from its circulation year on year and seeing over 80,000 readers desert its pages.

News International’s market leading Sun also suffered, with a 3.2% decline translating to over 103,000 readers in real terms. The paper remains the UK’s best-selling daily however, with a circulation of just under 3.2 million.

Meanwhile, arch rival Trinity Mirror’s Daily Mirror lost 3.8% and 64,653 readers in the same period, pushing the title’s circulation down to just under 1.7 million.

The Daily Record completed the clean sweep of decline, with a 4.2% dip in sales leaving the paper at 446,628.

Elsewhere the mid market struggled against continued decline, with the Daily Express recording the largest downturn of any daily title.

The paper shed 10.1% from its total circulation year on year, losing almost 94,000 copies in real terms to hit 832,462, while rival the Daily Mail lost 0.4% to see sales sit at 2.4 million.

The quality sector was the only area of the national daily market to see circulation growth, with the Financial Times and the Guardian rising by 8.3% and 1.9% respectively.

In the Sunday market, Guardian stablemate the Observer aped the success of its weekday counterpart, with an increase of 11.1% year on year. The paper’s circulation now stands at 503,582.

Meanwhile, the Independent on Sunday added an impressive 22.9% to its circulation, which now totals 258,368.

A full breakdown of the latest ABC figures will be available on NewsLine this afternoon, with detailed analysis for both weekday and weekend titles by market sector.

ABC: 01442 870 800 www.abc.org.uk