Circulation figures were down across the board once again in February, with the daily newspaper market posting a 5.4% decline on last year’s figures.
The total daily market was also down 3.5% on January’s numbers. However, two titles saw a rise in sales – the Daily Record and Associated’s new i (i recorded an impressive 31.6% PoP jump).
The picture for the Sunday newspaper market is similar, with an overall 7% year on year decline – however, three titles in our report enjoyed slight period on period increases during the month.
Daily Newspaper Market
| Daily Titles | Feb-10 | Jan-11 | Feb-11 | YoY Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | |||||||
| Daily Telegraph | 685,177 | 651,184 | 628,338 | -56,839 | -8.3 | -22,846 | -3.5 |
| Financial Times | 390,203 | 383,067 | 378,707 | -11,496 | -2.9 | -4,360 | -1.1 |
| Guardian | 284,514 | 279,308 | 262,612 | -21,902 | -7.7 | -16,696 | -6.0 |
| Independent | 183,547 | 185,035 | 182,513 | -1,034 | -0.6 | -2,522 | -1.4 |
| Times | 505,062 | 457,250 | 445,962 | -59,100 | -11.7 | -11,288 | -2.5 |
| Mid Market | |||||||
| Daily Express | 672,951 | 639,875 | 623,603 | -49,348 | -7.3 | -16,272 | -2.5 |
| Daily Mail | 2,111,204 | 2,136,568 | 2,070,625 | -40,579 | -1.9 | -65,943 | -3.1 |
| Popular | |||||||
| Daily Mirror | 1,234,967 | 1,194,097 | 1,177,220 | -57,747 | -4.7 | -16,877 | -1.4 |
| Daily Record | 328,183 | 306,872 | 312,461 | -15,722 | -4.8 | 5,589 | 1.8 |
| Daily Star | 803,859 | 734,311 | 718,478 | -85,381 | -10.6 | -15,833 | -2.2 |
| Sun | 2,972,763 | 3,001,822 | 2,818,344 | -154,419 | -5.2 | -183,478 | -6.1 |
| Total Daily | 10,172,430 | 9,969,389 | 9,618,863 | -553,567 | -5.4 | -350,526 | -3.5 |
Quality Daily Titles
- The Times saw the biggest actual loss in the quality sector, down by more than 59,000 copies on February 2010 (-11.7% YoY)
- The Telegraph was not far behind, down 56,800 copies (-8.3% YoY) – however, it remains the most popular title in the sector with a total circulation of 628,000 copies
- The Independent fared better than most, dipping -0.6% YoY (a loss of just 1,000 copies).
- The Indy spin-off i posted total sales of 175,714 – up from 133,472 in January
Mid-Market Daily Titles
- The Daily Mail retained a healthy circulation of more than 2 million copies, despite posting a -1.9% YoY decline in sales
- The Daily Express suffered a higher -7.3% YoY fall (down by almost 50,000 copies) to 623,600
Popular Daily Titles
- The Daily Record bucked the general trend, recording a small 1.8% increase PoP – up by almost 5,600 copies to 312,000
- The Daily Star, meanwhile, suffered the highest percentage decline – down -10.6% YoY (85,000 copies)
- The Sun saw the biggest actual loss in sales, down by more than 154,000 copies – however, it holds on to the crown as the most popular daily newspaper with a total circulation of 2.8 million
Sunday Newspaper Market
The picture was much the same in the Sunday newspaper market, though a few titles saw a boost in sales during the period.
Following on from the success of i, the Independent on Sunday enjoyed a small 0.1% PoP rise, while the Sunday Times and the Sunday Mirror also posted increases.
| Sunday Titles | Feb-10 | Jan-11 | Feb-11 | YoY Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | |||||||
| Independent On Sunday. | 155,661 | 152,561 | 152,782 | -2,879 | -1.8 | 221 | 0.1 |
| Observer | 342,467 | 314,164 | 302,490 | -39,977 | -11.7 | -11,674 | -3.7 |
| Sunday Times | 1,122,165 | 1,039,371 | 1,045,495 | -76,670 | -6.8 | 6,124 | 0.6 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 516,238 | 496,128 | 488,218 | -28,020 | -5.4 | -7,910 | -1.6 |
| Mid Market | |||||||
| Sunday Express | 575,314 | 550,269 | 533,293 | -42,021 | -7.3 | -16,976 | -3.1 |
| Mail On Sunday. | 1,978,316 | 1,958,083 | 1,924,589 | -53,727 | -2.7 | -33,494 | -1.7 |
| Popular | |||||||
| Daily Star Sunday. | 347,374 | 316,712 | 302,357 | -45,017 | -13.0 | -14,355 | -4.5 |
| News Of The World | 2,993,709 | 2,789,560 | 2,708,158 | -285,551 | -9.5 | -81,402 | -2.9 |
| People | 541,470 | 500,866 | 488,240 | -53,230 | -9.8 | -12,626 | -2.5 |
| Sunday Mirror | 1,155,975 | 1,092,816 | 1,100,177 | -55,798 | -4.8 | 7,361 | 0.7 |
| Total Sunday | 9,728,689 | 9,210,530 | 9,045,799 | -682,890 | -7.0 | -164,731 | -1.8 |
Quality Sunday Titles
- The Sunday Times enjoyed the biggest percentage increase during the period, up 0.6% on January’s figures, and remains the highest-selling Sunday quality with a total circulation of more than one million copies
- The Independent on Sunday also posted a small increase – up 0.1% PoP to 153,000 copies
- The Observer, meanwhile, suffered the highest percentage decline, down -11.7% YoY and -3.7% PoP, taking its total to 302,000 copies
Mid-Market Sunday Titles
- The Mail on Sunday‘s circulation still sits below the 2 million-mark following a -2.7% YoY and -1.7% PoP decline
- The Sunday Express, meanwhile, posted a -7.3% YoY drop to 533,000 copies
Popular Sunday Titles
- The Sunday Mirror was the success story of the tabloid market, up 0.7% PoP to 1.1 million copies
- The News of the World posted the biggest actual loss (down by more than 285,000 copies) but remains the highest-selling Sunday title with a total circulation of 2.7 million
- The Daily Star Sunday recorded the highest percentage fall, down -13% YoY
National Newspapers ABC Figures – Sep – Feb 2011
| Daily Titles | Sep 09 -Feb 10 | Aug 10 -Jan 11 | Sep 10- Feb 11 | Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | |||||||
| Daily Telegraph | 734,991 | 653,910 | 646,517 | -88,474 | -12.0 | -7,393 | -1.1 |
| Financial Times | 400,902 | 390,687 | 391,048 | -9,854 | -2.5 | 361 | 0.1 |
| Guardian | 303,672 | 273,522 | 271,938 | -31,734 | -10.5 | -1,584 | -0.6 |
| Independent | 186,081 | 180,842 | 180,857 | -5,224 | -2.8 | 15 | 0.0 |
| Times | 541,416 | 472,893 | 464,907 | -76,509 | -14.1 | -7,986 | -1.7 |
| Mid Market | |||||||
| Daily Express | 687,543 | 646,384 | 638,577 | -48,966 | -7.1 | -7,807 | -1.2 |
| Daily Mail | 2,136,189 | 2,119,490 | 2,102,865 | -33,324 | -1.6 | -16,625 | -0.8 |
| Popular | |||||||
| Daily Mirror | 1,258,992 | 1,194,665 | 1,185,439 | -73,553 | -5.8 | -9,226 | -0.8 |
| Daily Record | 328,879 | 313,547 | 310,381 | -18,498 | -5.6 | -3,166 | -1.0 |
| Daily Star | 817,574 | 791,803 | 768,047 | -49,527 | -6.1 | -23,756 | -3.0 |
| Sun | 2,989,347 | 2,919,446 | 2,887,055 | -102,292 | -3.4 | -32,391 | -1.1 |
| Total Daily | 10,385,586 | 9,957,189 | 9,847,631 | -537,955 | -5.2 | -109,558 | -1.1 |
National Newspapers ABC Figures – Sep – Feb 2011
| Sunday Titles | Sep 09 -Feb 10 | Aug 10 -Jan 11 | Sep 10- Feb 11 | Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | |||||||
| Independent On Sunday. | 155,833 | 153,322 | 152,716 | -3,117 | -2.0 | -606 | -0.4 |
| Observer | 363,650 | 314,163 | 313,019 | -50,631 | -13.9 | -1,144 | -0.4 |
| Sunday Times | 1,162,472 | 1,056,219 | 1,052,762 | -109,710 | -9.4 | -3,457 | -0.3 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 557,434 | 501,740 | 498,769 | -58,665 | -10.5 | -2,971 | -0.6 |
| Mid Market | |||||||
| Sunday Express | 597,065 | 554,717 | 548,065 | -49,000 | -8.2 | -6,652 | -1.2 |
| Mail On Sunday. | 2,038,372 | 1,979,546 | 1,972,529 | -65,843 | -3.2 | -7,017 | -0.4 |
| Popular | |||||||
| Daily Star Sunday. | 361,472 | 349,868 | 336,714 | -24,758 | -6.8 | -13,154 | -3.8 |
| News Of The World | 2,995,247 | 2,810,028 | 2,783,244 | -212,003 | -7.1 | -26,784 | -1.0 |
| People | 544,124 | 512,254 | 504,393 | -39,731 | -7.3 | -7,861 | -1.5 |
| Sunday Mirror | 1,166,328 | 1,102,588 | 1,096,198 | -70,130 | -6.0 | -6,390 | -0.6 |
| Total Sunday | 9,941,997 | 9,334,445 | 9,258,409 | -683,588 | -6.9 | -76,036 | -0.8 |
