ABC National Newspaper Round-Up: April 2010

Daily Newspaper Market

The daily national newspaper market was down by 5% year on year and by 0.5% period on period in April.

Not one single title in our analysis was able to boast a year on year increase, although some titles fared better with month on month comparisons.

Quality Daily Titles

In the quality sector, all of the titles suffered fairly hefty year on year declines, although three of the five titles enjoyed small period on period increases.

Despite a 15.8% year on year drop, the Guardian reported a 2.1% period on period rise, which takes its total circulation to around 289,000 copies.  The Independent posted a similar 2.2% period on period increase, but was down by 8% year on year, which leaves it with just over 188,000 copies.

The Times, meanwhile, recorded a slight period on period increase of 0.9%.  However, the title’s total stands at less than 507,000 copies following a 14.2% year on year loss.

It was a tough month for the Financial Times and Daily Telegraph, both down month on month and year on year.  The Daily Telegraph posted a 0.5% period on period dip and a 11.8% year on year decline, leaving its circulation at 683,000 copies.

The Financial Times‘ total, meanwhile, stands at around 387,000 copies after a 3.7% period on period and 8.2% year year downturn.

Mid-Market Daily Titles

In the Mid-Market, the Daily Express was down by 8.3% year on year and by 0.4% period on period, leaving it with a total circulation of 666,000 copies.

The Daily Mail also posted a year on year drop, down by 3.9%.  However, the title enjoyed a slight period on period boost of 0.7%, keeping its total steady at 2 million copies.

Popular Daily Titles

In terms of percentage declines, the Popular sector suffered the most in April.  None of the titles in the market recorded month on month increases.

The least affected title was the Daily Star, however, with just a small 0.5% period on period dip and a static year on year figure.  As a result, the red-top paper’s total was down slightly on last month to 823,000 copies.

In April, the Daily Record posted a total circulation of 331,000 copies after a 0.7% period on period and 7.1% year on year drop.

The Daily Mirror recorded similar results, down by 0.6% period on period and by 6.1% year on year.  However, the title is still able to boast a total circulation of more than 1.2 million copies.

The Sun, meanwhile, lost almost 50,000 readers in April after a 1.6% period on period fall.  However, the title only dipped by 0.1% year on year and still claims the highest circulation of the entire Daily Newspaper market with more than 2.9 million copies.

Sunday Newspaper Market

It was a similar story for the Sunday newspaper market in April, with just one title posting a year on year increase.

However, most titles in the Sunday market enjoyed positive month on month comparisons.

Quality Sunday Titles

The Independent on Sunday was the only real success story in April’s ABC release, posting both year on year and period on period increases.

The title enjoyed a 9% period on period rise (and a 1.9% year on year increase), which takes its total circulation to over 168,000 copies.

The remaining three quality titles didn’t see much change during the month, but all suffered significant yearly declines.  The Sunday Times recorded the largest period on period increase of the three, up 2.1%.  However, a 7.1% year on year drop leaves it with a total of 1.1 million copies, down from 1.2 million this time last year.

The Observer and the Sunday Telegraph, meanwhile, both posted a slight 0.1% period on period rise.    However, the Sunday Telegraph was down by 10.8% year on year to 510,000 copies, while the Observer was down by a substantial 21.3% year on year to below 332,000 copies.

Mid-Market Sunday Titles

The Mail on Sunday now has a circulation of almost 2 million copies after a 1.6% period on period increase, despite posting a 4.4% year on year drop.

The Sunday Express, meanwhile, enjoyed a slight 0.8% rise during the period, taking its total to around 574,000 copies.

Popular Sunday Titles

In the popular sector, the Sunday Mirror and the People both suffered yearly and monthly declines.  The People‘s total stands at 530,000 copies after a 0.4% period on period dip and a higher 8.3% year on year fall.

The Sunday Mirror‘s total remains high at 1.1 million copies, despite a 2% period on period and 7.6% year on year decrease.

Meanwhile, the Daily Star Sunday enjoyed a small 1.9% period on period increase.  The title’s total is up on last month to 348,000 copies, despite a 2.6% year on year fall.

The News of the World witnessed the least change in April, remaining static period on period and posting just a small 1% year on year dip.  Its total now stands at 2.9 million copies, making it the most-read paper in the Sunday sector.