ABC National Newspaper Round-Up October 2003

The latest ABC circulation figures for the six months to October 2003 suggest that The Independent‘s recent decision to launch a tabloid trial version for commuters in the London metropolitan area has paid off for the paper (see Independent Reveals Details Of Tabloid Launch).

The new downsized format, which sells alongside the existing broadsheet edition, launched at the end of September for consumers looking for an upmarket read in a smaller size. The initiative has helped boost circulation at the paper by 7.7% month on month to 235,491, making it the only daily broadsheet title to experience a significant increase in sales during October.

Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph, suffered a 2.2% decline in circulation to 914,169 during the same period. The paper recently parted ways with its long standing editor, Charles Moore, who decided to relinquish his position in order to devote more time to his biography of Margaret Thatcher (see Telegraph Parts Ways With Managing Director Of Sales).

The Guardian and The Times also slipped during October with the former experiencing a 0.7% decline to 392,479 and the latter seeing circulation fall by a more negligible 0.2% month on month to 631,109.

However, there was good news for The Business, which continued to benefit from a rise in bulk sales and oversees circulation. The title recorded an impressive 18.6% increase in circulation to 246,068 after securing a promotional deal with the Mail On Sunday.

Elsewhere, the Daily Mirror‘s decision to return its focus back towards slightly softer news and show business stories appears to have turned things around for the title, which saw circulation increase by 0.2% month on month to 1,943,382.

The Sun failed to shine during October and the tabloid favourite recorded a 1.9% decline in circulation during October to below the 3.5 million mark. Last month Times Newspapers appointed former News Group ad director, Mike Gordon, to the newly created position of commercial director to offer marketers more integrated packages across its range of titles (see Times Newspapers Appoints New Commercial Head).

The Daily Mail faltered slightly in the mid market with a modest 0.3% month on month slip in circulation to 2,473,965. However, the Mail On Sunday continued to perform strongly with a solid 2.1% increase during the same period to 2,400,889.

Quality Market

Year on year analysis of the quality market paints a relatively bleak picture for the sector, with the majority of titles seeing circulation decline in the six months to October. The Business was the only title to experience any upward movement with a massive 69.9% increase to 147,386.

The Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph were less fortune with the former seeing circulation fall by 7.4% year on year to 923,500 and the latter dipping by 8.7% during the same period to 710,229. The Telegraph Group recently brought an end to the practice of bulk sampling and reduced the number of overseas sales in a move intended to provide advertisers with greater transparency (see Telegraph Group Puts An End To Bulk Sales).

News International’s Times also suffered during the six months to October with circulation declining by 8.6% year on year to 632,533. The Sunday Times dipped by 2.2% during the same period to 1,357,905, but the title is hoping to boost circulation with its new interactive CD-Rom entertainment supplement, The Month (see Sunday Times Claims New Monthly CD-Rom Boosted Sales).

Mid Market

The Daily Mail was the only mid market title to see circulation increase in the six months to October with a 0.8% year on year increase to 2,451,262. However, the paper’s parent group, Daily Mail & General Trust, recently announced that it has seen ongoing weakness in the national display advertising market, as well as in the London classified market (see Daily Mail Sees Ongoing Weakness In National Advertising).

At the other end of the scale, Richard Desmond’s Sunday Express suffered a 7.7% year n year decline during the same period to 1,624,326. The Daily Express slipped by a less significant 0.9% to 973,737.

Popular Market

The majority of popular titles saw circulation decline in the six months to October with News Of The World dipping by 1.4% year on year to 3,901,215 and The Sun falling by 2.8% during the same period to 3,514,095.

The Daily Mirror also fared poorly with circulation declining by 7.4% year on year to below the 2 million mark. The Sunday Mirror dipped by 7.7% during the six months to October to 1,624,326, down from 1,759,136 in the same period the previous year.

However, the sector’s worst performance came from Sport First, which suffered a 43% year on year decline to 26,200. Trinity Mirror’s People also experienced a sharp 14.8% decline to 1,106,797 in the six months to October.

Metro Titles

The Metro titles performed well during October amid speculation that Richard Desmond has been forced to delay his plans to launch a free-sheet newspaper in London until February next year (see Desmond Delays Plans To Launch London Free-Sheet). Overall the Metro titles saw their total certified distribution increase by 7.3% year on year to 892,635.

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