ABC National Newspaper Round-Up: July 2011

July was an interesting month for the national newspaper market, with the hackgate scandal dominating headlines and the closure of News International’s long-running Sunday tabloid News of the World.

There were some healthy gains in the daily market, particularly in the quality sector. The Indy spin-off i enjoyed a 6.1% PoP rise, which takes its total circulation above the Independent for the first time.

In the Sunday market, percentage increases for the month are through the roof as the popular and mid-market titles battled it out for former NotW readers – and people turned to the quality titles for insight on the scandal.

Quality Daily Titles

• i enjoyed the largest percentage increase – up 6.1% PoP to 184,000 copies – a 1000 more than its sister title the Independent
• The Independent posted a 3.5% PoP but is down 0.6% YoY
• The Daily Telegraph and the Times also recorded increases in July, though all titles in the sector are down on last year
• Unfortunately, the Guardian and the FT did not benefit from the overall boost – with both posting PoP declines
• The Daily Telegraph is still the most read title with a total of 634,000 copies

Mid-Market Daily Titles

• Both Mid-Market titles enjoyed small PoP increases – the Daily Express is up 0.7%, while the Daily Mail remains stable with a 0.1% rise

Popular Daily Titles

• The Daily Mirror had the most success in July – up 1.3% on June to 1.18 million copies
• The Sun also saw a small increase – 0.5% PoP – and remains the best-selling daily newspaper with a total circulation of 2.8 million
• The Daily Record and Daily Star both recorded small declines during the month (down by -0.2% each)
• Over the year, the Daily Star has seen the biggest drop – down 16.2% YoY

Sunday Newspaper Market

In a month that saw the shuttering of Britain’s most-read Sunday newspaper, News of the World, the market saw figures rocket. As expected, the tabloid sector was the most-affected, though the mid-market also enjoyed gains. The quality sector was the least affected, though the Independent on Sunday enjoyed a 10.6% PoP rise.

Overall, the Sunday market is down 8.6% PoP with some NotW readers failing to transfer their purchase to alternative titles.

Quality Sunday Titles

• The Independent on Sunday and the Sunday Telegraph both posted PoP increases, though the IoS was the only title in the quality sector to see its circulation rise over the year
• The Observer remains static with no change on June’s total
• The Sunday Times saw a small decrease in circulation – down 0.7% PoP – and has fallen below the one million mark but remains the most popular Sunday quality title with a total of 994,000 copies

Mid-Market Sunday Titles

• The Mail on Sunday added 328,000 copies to its total over the month, taking it to 2.25 million copies overall (it is now the most popular Sunday newspaper)
• The Sunday Express enjoyed a 20.3% PoP rise and a 14.1% YoY increase in July

Popular Sunday Titles

• The Daily Star Sunday posted a massive 130% PoP increase – up 398,000 copies during the period (and by 90.2% YoY)
• The People also enjoyed a substantial rise – up 70% PoP (332,000 actual copies)
• The Sunday Mirror added 699,000 copies in July (up 64.2%) and now takes the crown as the best-selling popular title with a total of almost 1.8 million copies