ABC National Newspaper Round-Up – March 2003

The latest ABC figures for newspaper circulation brought mixed news to the sector, which experienced a 1.4% month on month decline despite the conflict in Iraq.

The figures support the growing belief that consumers are turning to 24-hour news channels and the internet to get up-to-date coverage of major events at the expense of newspapers.

The largest falls were seen in the tabloid sector with the Sunday Mirror experiencing the biggest decline in real terms, down 88,285 in the space of a month. However, its main rival, the News Of The World was not far behind, slipping 2% over the same period.

Sales of the Daily Star Sunday, also fell considerably, despite the continued publicity campaigns supporting the new launch. However, it is the Daily Mirror which has attracted the most column inches as the title fell below the 2 million mark following a 2.2% drop.

There were exceptions to the overall decline with both pink papers showing encouraging growth. The Business saw sales up 8% in March, while the Financial Times increased its circulation by 4.7%.

In the wider broadsheet market, the Daily Telegraph continued its slow decline. Despite a number of nationwide marketing initiatives, the paper was down 0.1% month on month. However, the Guardian and the Independent were able to report solid circulation increases.

Quality Market

The quality market experienced a surprisingly weak set of circulation figures considering the events unfolding on the world stage. With the exception of The Business and The Observer, every title experienced a year on year decline.

The Business saw sales rise to 93,245 from 69,803 in the six months to March last year while its counterpart the Financial Times was down more than 30,000 at 457,332.

In real terms, the largest decrease was experienced by the Daily Telegraph which saw its circulation slump 6.3% to below the one million mark. However, the title is currently undergoing a huge branding and marketing push and has also been given a widespread redesign and new columnists in an attempt to halt the slide. It is also worth noting that the Telegraph Group recently ended the costly practice of bulk sales, which tend to overinflate sales figures.

Another loser in this sector was The Times, which saw its circulation further eroded, down 38,230 year on year. However, The Observer’s 2.7% increase will come as a surprise to many media analysts, who claimed that the paper’s pro-war stance was alienating traditional readers.

Mid Market

Mid market newspapers experienced gains across the board and Richard Desmond’s Express titles are beginning to fulfil their potential. Benefiting from the public’s seemingly insatiable appetite for celebrity gossip, the Sunday Express saw circulation increase by 14.5% year on year, while the Daily Express was up by a more modest 3.2% to 966,211.

However, DMGT continues to maintain its hold over middle England. The Mail On Sunday recorded a rise in sales of 26,938, while the Daily Mail edged up 0.2% to stand at 2,441,560.

Popular Market

Analysis of the popular market reflects the fickle nature of tabloid readership in the modern era. Few titles recorded any increase in circulation, with the notable exception of the Daily Star, which was up 29.9% year on year.

In real terms, the sector’s biggest casualty was the People which saw its circulation dive by almost 15%. Trinity Mirror’s flagship titles also recorded sizeable losses. The Daily Mirror shed 72,755 sales while the Sunday Mirror was down 7.4% year on year. Much has been made of the two papers’ anti-war stance being a turn-off for readers.

Metro Titles