ABC National Newspaper Round-Up January 2003

The latest ABC figures for national newspaper circulation reveal a positive period for the sector, which started the year on a high note, with circulation increasing by 4% during January.

The largest increase in percentage terms was seen at Richard Desmond’s recently launched Daily Star Sunday, which continued to attract readers with its no-nonsense approach to news and sport. The title saw circulation rise by 15.1% month on month to 510,995. Other Sunday tabloid titles also performed well during January. The Sunday Mirror improved by a notable 9.5% to 1,724,940 and the News Of The World recorded a 5.2% increase during January to just below £4 million.

Rebakah Wade has seen a successful start to her role as editor of the Sun, with circulation at the title increasing by 3.8% month on month to just above 3.5 million. Wade was appointed earlier this month following David Yelland’s decision to step down after almost five years as editor (see New Sun Editor Says Job Is Best In Newspapers).

The Sunday Express and the Sunday Times experienced significant month on month increases, with circulation rising by 7.7% and 5.7% respectively. However, the Financial Times was less fortunate, with circulation declining by 8.8% during January to 431,875.

Quality Market

Things continued to look bleak for the quality market, with the majority of titles seeing circulation decline during the six months to January. The Business and the Observer were the only titles to escape the New Year blues, with circulation rising by 45.3% and 0.9% year on year. The Financial Times saw one of the most significant drops in percentage terms, with circulation slipping by 6.5% year on year. However, the Independent and the Independent On Sunday faltered by 3.8% and 6.7% respectively.

Mid-Market

Year on year analysis paints a relatively positive picture of the mid-market, with the Sunday Express and the Mail On Sunday seeing circulation rise by 14.3% and 0.2% respectively in the six months to January 2003. The Daily Mail saw circulation slip by 1.3%, while the Daily Express recorded a 3.3% increase to just below the million mark.

Popular Market

The Daily Star continued to make its mark on the popular market, with circulation rising by 24.7% year on year. Other daily tabloid titles fared less well in the six months to January. The Daily Mirror, which is rumoured to be increasing its coverprice, saw circulation slip by 3.5% and the Daily Record recorded a 10.2% year on year decline to 535,162.

The sector’s most notable drop, in percentage terms, was experienced by Sport First, which slipped by 52% to just above 41,000. In comparison, the Sun, under its new editor, improved by 4.1% to 3,611,541, in what was the most the sector’s most notable increase.

Subscribers can access the Press database by selecting “Press” from the drop-down box at the top of this page.