ABC National Newspaper Round-Up: November 2006

Daily Newspaper Market

Daily newspapers in the UK saw an almost 4% decline in circulation year on year for November, with all but one of the titles across the board seeing circulation figures fall.

In the Quality sector, the Times felt a year on year slide of more than 37,500 copies, whilst the Daily Mail in the Mid-Market sector dropped over 46,000 issues.

The Daily Mirror in the Popular sector saw the largest actual loss of copies year on year for the month, shedding 122,377, whilst the Sun lost more than 120,000, but remains the nation’s most circulated national daily newspaper, netting more than three million copies.

The Financial Times was the only title to boost its circulation year on year, raising its total by more than 1,000 to leave it with a circulation of almost 433,000.

Quality Daily Titles

All titles in the Quality Daily sector with the exception of the Financial Times saw a downturn in circulation, with the Times experiencing the largest actual loss year on year.

The Times fell by just over 37,500 copies in November, which signals a 5.4% decrease in its circulation, leaving the newspaper with a total of 653,780. The Guardian also felt a significant decrease in its circulation year on year, losing more than 18,500 copies, a 4.6% slide. Its total now rests at 382,393 copies.

The Independent shed almost 4% of its total circulation, or 9,712 in real terms, leaving it with 253,737 issues, whilst the Daily Telegraph dipped a marginal 0.2%, a loss of just over 2,000 copies year on year for November.

The FT was the only title to push its circulation up, with its total rising by 1,174 to almost 433,000.

Mid Market Daily Titles

Both titles in the Mid-Market sector now have a smaller circulation base than in November last year, with the Daily Mail dropping over 46,000 copies year on year for the month. The paper remains by far the market leader with a total of more than 2.2 million issues circulated.

The Daily Express felt an almost 3% slide in its circulation, shedding almost 22,000 copies to leave it with a total of 774,665.

Popular Daily Titles

The Popular titles suffered the largest actual losses in the daily newspaper market, with all titles experiencing significant downturns.

The Daily Mirror was the worse hit in real terms, losing 122,377 issues, or 7.3%, to leave its total at more than 1.5 million. The Sun also saw a significant chunk taken out of its circulation year on year for November, dipping by more than 120,000 copies. Despite an almost 4% loss, it is by far the market leader, with more than three million copies circulated in the UK.

The Daily Record shed almost 8% from its total, or 34,253, leaving it with a final figure of 408,293 editions. The Daily Star‘s circulation fell by more than 26,000, and its total now stands at 769,226.

Sunday Newspaper Market

The Sunday newspaper market experienced an overall drop in circulation of 6.2% year on year for November, which equates to 771,218 in real terms.

The largest increase of any Sunday title was for the Mail On Sunday, which saw its circulation grow by 51,145.

The biggest loss was suffered by The News Of The World which lost 317,653 from its total circulation figure.

Quality Sunday Titles

The Observer was the only title in the Sunday Quality sector to record an increase, of around 11,200 copies year on year.

The largest actual decline in the sector was suffered by the Sunday Times, with a fall of 106,462 year on year, although it remained the Quality title with the highest total circulation figure, of 1.2 million.

However, the Sunday Telegraph which shed 58,600 from its total, saw a percentage decline of 8.2% year on year.

The Independent On Sunday, meanwhile, experienced a drop of 5.6% year on year, to leave it with a total circulation figure of around 212,900.

Mid Market Sunday Titles

In the Mid Market, the Sunday Express dropped 13% year on year, leaving it with a total figure of 758,443.

However, the Mail On Sunday enjoyed an increase of more than 50,000 copies year on year, a 2.2% rise, giving it a circulation of over 2.3 million.

Popular Sunday Titles

It was a bad month for the Popular Sunday sector, as all titles experienced a dip in circulation.

The Daily Star Sunday saw the smallest year on year loss in actual terms, of 31,163, a 7.9% fall.

The News Of The World felt the largest drop in circulation in real terms, of 317,653 year on year, although it remained the Sunday title with the highest circulation, of more than 3.4 million.

The People felt the largest decrease in percentage terms in the sector, of more than 12%, leaving it with a total circulation of 764,409.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Mirror experienced a downturn of around 88,000 year on year, leaving it with a circulation of over 1.3 million copies.

Six Monthly Year On Year Analysis

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