ABC National Newspaper Round-Up: February 2012

The daily newspaper market is down -5.2% on February 2011, with just one title posting an increase over the year.

i continues to see its circulation rise. The title is up 50.5% on this time last year (it released its first ABC figure in January 2011). The only other daily title to record an increase was the Daily Record – up 5.7% PoP.

The Sunday market, meanwhile, now includes the edition of Rupert Murdoch’s The Sun (Sunday), which sold 3.21 million copies in its first week. That figure was down to 2.7 million last weekend (4 March – its second week). Has The Sun (Sunday) already had an effect on the Sunday market? It will be clearer in next month’s ABC release, when the numbers have settled down. Overall, the Sunday market is up 12.4% YoY.

Daily Newspaper Market

Quality Daily Titles

• i enjoyed a 50.5% YoY increase to 264,432 copies
• Meanwhile, the Independent saw the biggest actual fall, losing over 77,300 copies
• The FT was not far behind, down more than 62,200 copies
• The Daily Telegraph remains highest-selling daily quality with a total circulation of 579,000 copies

Mid-Market Daily Titles

• The Daily Express is down -7.4% YoY; while the Daily Mail is down -6.0% YoY (a fall of over 125,000 copies)

Popular Daily Titles

• The Daily Record enjoyed a 5.7% PoP increase, while the Daily Mirror posted a 1.8% PoP rise
• All daily red-tops recorded YoY declines
• The Sun saw the biggest actual loss, down more than 236,000 copies – however, it remains the top-selling daily with a total of 2.58m copies

London Free

Sunday Newspaper Market

Quality Sunday Titles

• The Sunday Times suffered the biggest actual loss in February, down by more than 106,000 copies
• The Observer posted a significant percentage decline in the month, down -16.4% YoY (and -4.3% PoP)
• The Independent on Sunday and Sunday Telegraph remained fairly static between January and February, with both titles dipping by just -0.1% PoP (although the Independent on Sunday was down -18.7% YoY – the highest fall in the market)

Mid-Market Sunday Titles

• The Sunday Express was down -6.6% on January but is up over the year (+ 6.5%)
• The Mail on Sunday posted a -2% PoP drop and a -2.2% YoY decline

Popular Sunday Titles

• The Daily Star Sunday posted a 98.1% YoY increase and a -7.1% PoP drop
• The People saw a smaller 43.6% rise over the year (and was down -9.0% PoP)
• The Sunday Mirror‘s circulation sits just below the 1.6m mark after a 44.9% YoY increase and a -9.1% PoP drop
• The Sun (Sunday) reported for the first time – its debut edition sold more than 3.2m copies