ABC National Newspaper Round-Up: August 2012

Daily Market

The overall daily newspaper market was down -10.1% YoY and -0.9% PoP in August, with just one title enjoying a increase in circulation over the year. Independent‘s sister title i posted a 47.3% YoY rise during the summer month and now has a total circulation of 282,000 copies.

Positively, six daily titles in our analysis recorded increases during the Olympic and Paralympic month – the Daily Telegraph (+0.5% PoP), i (+0.5%), the Scotsman (+6.5%), The Times (+0.9%), the Daily Mirror (+0.6%) and the Daily Record (+0.3%).

In the quality sector, the Independent saw the biggest actual loss – down by 99,000 copies over the year, as readers seem to be migrating to its smaller and cheaper version (i gained more than 90,000 copies in the same period).

Both mid-market titles – the Daily Express and Daily Mail – posted YoY and PoP declines, however the Daily Mail is still the second biggest-selling daily newspaper.

In the popular market, the Daily Mirror and Daily Record enjoyed small increases during the month but all four titles were down YoY.  Over the year, The Sun has seen the biggest actual drop (down by almost 293,000 copies) but remains well ahead of its daily competitors with a total circulation of 2.5 million.

London Free Press

In the London freebie market, City A.M. is able to boast a 38.5% YoY increase, up by almost 36,000 copies. The newspaper now targets more commuters in the South and South West, and as a result the number of stations City A.M. is available at has now doubled.

Metro (London), which is distributed to around 775,000 people, is up slightly (1.5% YoY), while the London Evening Standard‘s total remains static.

Sunday Newspaper Market

All of the titles in our Sunday market analysis saw their sales fall over the year, however, some titles enjoyed an increase on July.

The quality market performed well in the month, with the Independent on Sunday, the Observer, Scotland on Sunday and the Sunday Telegraph all posted PoP increases.

The Mail on Sunday and Sunday Express also saw their circulations rise in August – up 1.8% and 0.5% PoP respectively.

However, the Sunday Mail and Sunday Mirror were the only two red-tops to enjoy a PoP rise. The Daily Star Sunday, the People and The Sun (Sunday) posted PoP declines.

Over the year, the Sunday Mirror has suffered the biggest actual loss, down by more than 799,000 copies – losing its gains from the News of the World closure last year.

News International’s The Sun (Sunday), which has a total circulation of over 2.1 million, is the most popular Sunday title, followed by the Mail on Sunday (1.8 million copies) and the Sunday Mirror (1.1 million copies).

Tables and Graphs