ABC National Newspaper Round-Up April 2004

The Independent saw circulation inch-up by a further 0.9% during April to just over the 260,000 mark as the paper’s commuter-friendly compact edition continued to prove a hit with readers.

The latest ABC results for April will provide a welcome boost to the Independent, which has today gone completely tabloid, in a move that will consign the broadsheet edition of the paper to the scrap-heap after more than twenty years of publication.

The decision has been praised by media agencies, which have pointed out that the number of people buying the traditional broadsheet version was now so small that it no longer made business sense to continue to publish the title in two formats (see Media Planners Welcome Independent’s Tabloid Move).

There was also good news for broadsheet rival, the Guardian, which saw its circulation rise by a solid 1.4% during the same period to 381,421. The title is thought to be considering launching a midsize edition somewhere between a compact and a broadsheet in an attempt to further boost sales (see ABC National Newspaper Round-Up – March 2004).

Things were less positive for the Times, which saw circulation decline by 0.6% to 654,762. The title’s recently launched compact edition appears to be proving less of a hit with its older, more conservative readership.

The Daily Telegraph saw circulation hold firm at 923,449 as it pondered its own tabloid launch. However, the Business suffered a significant 37.1% decline as its distribution deal with the Mail on Sunday finally came to an end (see Associated Ends Distribution Deal With The Business).

There was little cheer in the tabloid market with the Daily Mirror seeing circulation dip by 0.9% just weeks after raising its coverprice to 35p. This weekend it emerged that Piers Morgan is demanding £1 million compensation from the paper after he was sacked for publishing hoax pictures allegedly showing British troops abusing Iraqi prisoners (see Sacked Daily Mirror Editor Could Demand Compensation).

Richard Desmond’s Daily Star saw circulation dip by 0.2% to 902,026 and News International’s Sun also failed to shine with a meagre 0.4% increase during the same period to 3,345,828.

Meanwhile in the mid-market, the Daily Express suffered a slight 0.1% decline to 940,849 and Lord Rothermere’s Daily Mail continued to gain ground with a slight 0.4% increase in circulation to just over the 2.4 million mark.

Quality Titles

Things are even more positive for the Independent in year on years analysis, with the title seeing circulation rise by an impressive 12.6% in the six months to April. Things were pretty bleak for the rest of the broadsheets, which suffered some heavy losses. The Independent on Sunday dipped by 4.9% and the Sunday Telegraph suffered a 5.5% decline during the same period.

Mid-Market Titles

Things were also less than rosy in the mid-market with Desmond’s Daily Express declining by 1.7% year on year in the six months to April and the Sunday Express dipping by 1.4%. The Daily Mail and its Sunday sibling also saw circulation decline.

Popular Titles

The Daily Star was the only popular title to see circulation increase in the six months to April. The rest of the tabloids performed poorly despite some high-profile coverage of the ongoing events in Iraq. The Daily Mirror dipped by 6.5% year on year and the Sun was seen down by 4.6%. News of the World suffered a slight 1% decline during the same period, but this was overshadowed by a hefty 19.8% loss for Sport First.

Metro Titles

Associated Newspapers’ Metro titles continued to perform strongly with their overall certified distribution rising by 2.3% year on year during April to just below the 900,000 mark. However, the London edition could be hit by new competition in the form of Richard Desmond’s planned evening free-sheet (see Desmond Reaffirms Plans To Launch London Free-Sheet).

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