ABC National Newspaper Round-Up: May 2011
The daily national newspaper market enjoyed a small 0.1% PoP rise in May, with three titles posting increases during the month.
However, the market didn’t manage to keep up the momentum from April’s 0.5% jump – with the Royal Wedding providing a much needed boost to circulation figures – but as news of super-injunctions dominated the headlines, i, the Daily Star and The Sun saw sales rise.
Three titles in the Sunday market also recorded increases, though the overall market was down 0.4% PoP.
Daily Newspaper Market
| Daily Titles | Apr-10 | Apr-11 | May-11 | YoY Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Daily | 10,188,562 | 9,763,758 | 9,772,333 | -416,229 | -4.1 | 8,575 | 0.1 |
| Quality | |||||||
| Daily Telegraph | 698,456 | 639,578 | 635,967 | -62,489 | -8.9 | -3,611 | -0.6 |
| Financial Times | 399,862 | 372,076 | 362,685 | -37,177 | -9.3 | -9,391 | -2.5 |
| Guardian | 300,472 | 263,907 | 262,937 | -37,535 | -12.5 | -970 | -0.4 |
| i | N/A | 161,151 | 167,067 | N/A | N/A | 5,916 | 3.7 |
| Independent | 194,501 | 180,743 | 179,371 | -15,130 | -7.8 | -1,372 | -0.8 |
| Times | 515,379 | 449,809 | 446,684 | -68,695 | -13.3 | -3,125 | -0.7 |
| Mid Market | |||||||
| Daily Express | 663,627 | 635,576 | 631,588 | -32,039 | -4.8 | -3,988 | -0.6 |
| Daily Mail | 2,090,469 | 2,100,300 | 2,056,881 | -33,588 | -1.6 | -43,419 | -2.1 |
| Popular | |||||||
| Daily Mirror | 1,238,145 | 1,172,785 | 1,168,664 | -69,481 | -5.6 | -4,121 | -0.4 |
| Daily Record | 328,618 | 312,566 | 311,540 | -17,078 | -5.2 | -1,026 | -0.3 |
| Daily Star | 822,934 | 692,157 | 702,044 | -120,890 | -14.7 | 9,887 | 1.4 |
| Sun | 2,936,099 | 2,783,110 | 2,846,905 | -89,194 | -3.0 | 63,795 | 2.3 |
Quality Daily Titles
- The Independent spin-off i enjoyed a 3.7% PoP increase in sales (up nearly 6,000 copies)
- The remaining five quality titles posted PoP and YoY declines
- The FT saw the biggest percentage drop, down 2.5% PoP
- Over the year, The Times and the Daily Telegraph suffered the biggest actual losses – down by more than 60,000 copies each
- The Daily Telegraph remains the most-read quality title with a total of 636,000 copies
Mid-Market Daily Titles
- The Daily Express posted a small 0.6% PoP dip (but is down 4.8% YoY)
- The Daily Mail saw a higher 2.1% PoP fall, down 43,000 copies, to just over two million
Popular Daily Titles
- Two titles in the tabloid market posted PoP increases – the Daily Star and The Sun
- The Daily Star enjoyed a 1.4% PoP boost but is down 14.7% YoY
- The Sun easily remains the most popular daily title with a total of 2.8 million copies (after a 2.3% PoP rise in sales)
- The Daily Mirror and Daily Record both posted small PoP dips
Sunday Newspaper Market
The daily market’s small increase didn’t rub off on the Sunday market – overall, it is down 0.4% on April and 5.5% on last year.
However, three titles saw their circulation rise during the month – The Sunday Times, the News of the World and the People.
| Sunday Titles | Apr-10 | Apr-11 | May-11 | YoY Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Sunday | 9,512,164 | 9,024,628 | 8,987,851 | -524,313 | -5.5 | -36,777 | -0.4 |
| Quality | |||||||
| Independent On Sunday | 164,188 | 154,227 | 151,212 | -12,976 | -7.9 | -3,015 | -2.0 |
| Observer | 340,247 | 302,975 | 293,053 | -47,194 | -13.9 | -9,922 | -3.3 |
| Sunday Times | 1,117,749 | 1,018,215 | 1,049,599 | -68,150 | -6.1 | 31,384 | 3.1 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 512,819 | 509,557 | 480,438 | -32,381 | -6.3 | -29,119 | -5.7 |
| Mid Market | |||||||
| Sunday Express | 568,247 | 601,666 | 563,397 | -4,850 | -0.9 | -38,269 | -6.4 |
| Mail On Sunday. | 1,918,512 | 1,944,724 | 1,918,751 | 239 | 0.0 | -25,973 | -1.3 |
| Popular | |||||||
| Daily Star Sunday. | 357,130 | 309,237 | 305,984 | -51,146 | -14.3 | -3,253 | -1.1 |
| News Of The World | 2,858,727 | 2,606,397 | 2,657,232 | -201,495 | -7.0 | 50,835 | 2.0 |
| People | 526,438 | 480,196 | 481,224 | -45,214 | -8.6 | 1,028 | 0.2 |
| Sunday Mirror | 1,148,107 | 1,097,434 | 1,086,961 | -61,146 | -5.3 | -10,473 | -1.0 |
Quality Sunday Titles
- The Sunday Times enjoyed a 3.1% PoP rise in sales, up by more than 31,000 copies
- The Sunday Telegraph posted the biggest percentage drop in May, down 5.7% PoP – taking its total below the 500,000 mark
- The Observer suffered a 3.3% PoP decline and a substantial 13.9% YoY decrease
Mid-Market Sunday Titles
- The Mail on Sunday saw its circulation fall 1.3% PoP but remain static over the year
- The Sunday Express recorded a 6.4% PoP drop, taking its total below 600,000
Popular Sunday Titles
- Two titles in the Sunday red-top market enjoyed a boost in circulation numbers – the News of the World and the People
- The News of the World increased its total by more than 50,000 after a 2% PoP rise
- The People posted a small 0.2% PoP jump but is down 8.6% on last year
- The Daily Star Sunday recorded a 1.1% PoP dip and a significant 14.3% YoY decline in sales
- The Sunday Mirror saw a 1.0% PoP fall – a loss of more than 10,000 copies
| Daily Titles | Dec 09 -May 10 | Nov 10 -Apr 11 | Dec 10- May 11 | Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Daily | 10,176,402 | 9,653,628 | 9,613,223 | -563,179 | -5.5 | -40,405 | -0.4 |
| Quality | |||||||
| Daily Telegraph | 691,000 | 637,233 | 634,404 | -56,596 | -8.2 | -2,829 | -0.4 |
| Financial Times | 395,009 | 384,501 | 378,095 | -16,914 | -4.3 | -6,406 | -1.7 |
| Guardian | 292,826 | 266,440 | 265,165 | -27,661 | -9.4 | -1,275 | -0.5 |
| Independent | 187,017 | 180,411 | 180,716 | -6,301 | -3.4 | 305 | 0.2 |
| Times | 509,588 | 451,910 | 448,629 | -60,959 | -12.0 | -3,281 | -0.7 |
| Mid Market | |||||||
| Daily Express | 670,548 | 629,531 | 628,165 | -42,383 | -6.3 | -1,366 | -0.2 |
| Daily Mail | 2,101,552 | 2,076,039 | 2,068,632 | -32,920 | -1.6 | -7,407 | -0.4 |
| Popular | |||||||
| Daily Mirror | 1,234,455 | 1,166,752 | 1,165,223 | -69,232 | -5.6 | -1,529 | -0.1 |
| Daily Record | 326,895 | 306,535 | 307,959 | -18,936 | -5.8 | 1,424 | 0.5 |
| Daily Star | 807,791 | 718,670 | 709,551 | -98,240 | -12.2 | -9,119 | -1.3 |
| Sun | 2,959,721 | 2,835,606 | 2,826,684 | -133,037 | -4.5 | -8,922 | -0.3 |
| Sunday Titles | Dec 09 -May 10 | Nov 10 -Apr 11 | Dec 10- May 11 | Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Sunday | 9,630,591 | 9,045,681 | 9,006,789 | -623,802 | -6.5 | -38,892 | -0.4 |
| Quality | |||||||
| Independent On Sunday | 158,619 | 152,311 | 152,355 | -6,264 | -3.9 | 44 | 0.0 |
| Observer | 341,532 | 304,870 | 300,821 | -40,711 | -11.9 | -4,049 | -1.3 |
| Sunday Times | 1,124,603 | 1,034,212 | 1,033,723 | -90,880 | -8.1 | -489 | -0.0 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 516,964 | 493,449 | 489,951 | -27,013 | -5.2 | -3,498 | -0.7 |
| Mid Market | |||||||
| Sunday Express | 577,790 | 548,608 | 551,595 | -26,195 | -4.5 | 2,987 | 0.5 |
| Mail On Sunday. | 1,979,334 | 1,938,348 | 1,926,242 | -53,092 | -2.7 | -12,106 | -0.6 |
| Popular | |||||||
| Daily Star Sunday. | 351,096 | 314,069 | 309,806 | -41,290 | -11.8 | -4,263 | -1.4 |
| News Of The World | 2,911,491 | 2,693,446 | 2,676,684 | -234,807 | -8.1 | -16,762 | -0.6 |
| People | 532,634 | 489,308 | 485,735 | -46,899 | -8.8 | -3,573 | -0.7 |
| Sunday Mirror | 1,136,528 | 1,077,060 | 1,079,877 | -56,651 | -5.0 | 2,817 | 0.3 |