ABC National Newspaper Round-Up: May 2011

The daily national newspaper market enjoyed a small 0.1% PoP rise in May, with three titles posting increases during the month.

However, the market didn’t manage to keep up the momentum from April’s 0.5% jump – with the Royal Wedding providing a much needed boost to circulation figures – but as news of super-injunctions dominated the headlines, i, the Daily Star and The Sun saw sales rise.

Three titles in the Sunday market also recorded increases, though the overall market was down 0.4% PoP.

Daily Newspaper Market

Quality Daily Titles

• The Independent spin-off i enjoyed a 3.7% PoP increase in sales (up nearly 6,000 copies)
• The remaining five quality titles posted PoP and YoY declines
• The FT saw the biggest percentage drop, down 2.5% PoP
• Over the year, The Times and the Daily Telegraph suffered the biggest actual losses – down by more than 60,000 copies each
• The Daily Telegraph remains the most-read quality title with a total of 636,000 copies

Mid-Market Daily Titles

• The Daily Express posted a small 0.6% PoP dip (but is down 4.8% YoY)
• The Daily Mail saw a higher 2.1% PoP fall, down 43,000 copies, to just over two million

Popular Daily Titles

• Two titles in the tabloid market posted PoP increases – the Daily Star and The Sun
• The Daily Star enjoyed a 1.4% PoP boost but is down 14.7% YoY
• The Sun easily remains the most popular daily title with a total of 2.8 million copies (after a 2.3% PoP rise in sales)
• The Daily Mirror and Daily Record both posted small PoP dips

Sunday Newspaper Market

The daily market’s small increase didn’t rub off on the Sunday market – overall, it is down 0.4% on April and 5.5% on last year.

However, three titles saw their circulation rise during the month – The Sunday Times, the News of the World and the People.

Quality Sunday Titles

• The Sunday Times enjoyed a 3.1% PoP rise in sales, up by more than 31,000 copies
• The Sunday Telegraph posted the biggest percentage drop in May, down 5.7% PoP – taking its total below the 500,000 mark
• The Observer suffered a 3.3% PoP decline and a substantial 13.9% YoY decrease

Mid-Market Sunday Titles

• The Mail on Sunday saw its circulation fall 1.3% PoP but remain static over the year
• The Sunday Express recorded a 6.4% PoP drop, taking its total below 600,000

Popular Sunday Titles

• Two titles in the Sunday red-top market enjoyed a boost in circulation numbers – the News of the World and the People
• The News of the World increased its total by more than 50,000 after a 2% PoP rise
• The People posted a small 0.2% PoP jump but is down 8.6% on last year
• The Daily Star Sunday recorded a 1.1% PoP dip and a significant 14.3% YoY decline in sales
• The Sunday Mirror saw a 1.0% PoP fall – a loss of more than 10,000 copies