ABC National Newspaper Round-Up – November 2003

The latest ABC circulation figures for November 2003 brought more good news to The Independent, which continued to see circulation increase following its decision to launch a tabloid version for commuters in the London area.

The new compact version, which sells alongside the existing broadsheet edition, helped boost circulation at the paper by 2.6% month on month during November to 240,326. However, the title still trails well behind its broadsheet rivals in terms of sales (see Independent Prepares To Launch Tabloid Trial Version).

The Daily Telegraph was the only other quality daily to see circulation increase during November. The title improved by 0.3% month on month to 917,040 amid continued speculation that its parent group could be snapped up by any one of a number of interested parties (see Desmond Puts Together Bid For Telegraph Titles)

The Times proved less fortunate during the same period with circulation slipping by 1.4% month on month to 622,102. However, the title will no doubt be hoping to boost sales with the launch of its own tabloid trial version (see Times Announces Launch Of Tabloid Edition In London).

Meanwhile, the recent run of success enjoyed by Richard Desmond’s tabloid titles came to an end in November. The Daily Star saw circulation decline by 5.5% month on month to 858,305 and its Sunday sibling, The Daily Star Sunday, dipped by a sharper 10.5% during the same period to 540,516.

The Daily Mirror also suffered with circulation falling by 1.9% to 2,479,458, despite its recent decision to return to a softer show-business led news agenda. News International’s Sun failed to shine during November with circulation dipping by 2% month on month to 3,389,919.

Mid-market titles experienced some nominal increases with the Daily Mail seeing circulation rise by 0.2% month on month to 2,479,458 and Richard Desmond’s Daily Express improving by a slightly healthier 0.6% during the same period to 950,373.

Quality Market

Year on year analysis of the quality market reveals another poor performance for the majority of titles in the six months to November. However, a glimmer of hope may well be on the horizon with the launch of tabloid versions of both the Independent and the Times.

There was one clear exception from the wider sector slump, in the form of The Business, which continues to benefit from a heavy reliance on bulk-sales and give-aways. The title saw circulation increase by almost 100% year on year to 173,758.

Meanwhile, News International’s Times was seen in the spotlight down 8.6% year on year to 630,131. The Sunday Times also suffered with circulation dropping by 8.6% during the same period to just over 1.3 million.

The Daily Telegraph also continued to decline after recently hitting the headlines over accounting irregularities at its parent company Hollinger International. The title saw circulation decline by 75 year on year to 922,112 despite its high profile ‘Read a best seller everyday’ campaign.

Mid-Market

November brought mixed news to the mid-market titles. The Daily Express continued to decline with circulation dropping by 1.7% year on year to 972,745. The Sunday Express also suffered with a 1.6% year on year drop in circulation to 962,266. However, the Daily Mail outperformed its Sunday sibling, experiencing a 1% increase in circulation to just over 2.4 million.

Popular Market

Year on year analysis of the tabloid market also revealed a mixed bag of results. There was bad news for the Daily Mirror, which experienced a 8% year on year drop in circulation to just below the 2 million mark. Trinity Mirror stablemate, People, also suffered with a 14% year on year drop to just over 1 million.

Elsewhere, News International’s News of the World saw circulation drop by 1.2% year on year to just under 4 million and the Sun dipped by 3.7% during the same period to just under 3.5 million.

On a brighter note, the Daily Star continued to benefit from its reliance on a traditional tabloid formula and experienced a 23.1% year on year increase in circulation to 899,774.

Metro Titles

November saw solid growth amongst the Metro freesheet titles with the London Metro seeing a 13.8% year on year increase in distribution to 450,831. This helped overall distribution to reach 891,337, a 7.1% increase on the same period the previous year.

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