ABC National Newspaper Round-Up – September 2003

The latest ABC figures for September brought impressive news to The Business, which saw circulation increase by a massive 83.6% month on month to 207,423. However, media buyers will have their eye on the fact that the paper’s increased circulation has been driven by a rise in bulk sales and overseas circulation.

Reports suggest that title’s improved fortunes are almost entirely due to a new deal to give away copies of the financial newspaper with the Mail On Sunday in selected areas of London.

Elsewhere in the financial sector, prestige pink paper the Financial Times saw circulation increase 4.6% month on month to 433,934. The paper remains forefront of the recession in the corporate and financial sectors, but recently launched a high-profile ad campaign to promote its redesign.

There was also good news for The Guardian, which saw a 3.9% month on month increase in circulation during September to 395,304. The title’s sister Sunday sibling also performed well and recorded a solid 8.1% increase during the same period to 469,666.

The Independent saw circulation increase by 0.5% month on month to 218,567. The title is hoping to further improve its fortunes with the launch of a tabloid-sized edition for commuters in the London metropolitan looking for an upmarket read in a smaller size.

The Daily Telegraph, which recently unveiled the latest phase of its ‘read a best-seller everyday’ campaign, recorded a slight 0.6% month on month improvement in circulation to 934,341. The title also recently announced that Charles Moore is to step down as editor of the paper to dedicate more time to his autobiography of Margaret Thatcher.

The Times and the Sunday Times also managed to stave off seasonal declines to report a month on month increases. The former rose by 6.4% during September to 1,395,855 and the latter inched up 0.4% during the same period to 632,274.

However, it was a less rosy picture in the tabloid market, with the Daily Mirror seeing circulation slip by 3.1% month on month to 1,939,560 and the Sun dropping by 0.8% to just over 3.5 million.

The strength of the Daily Mail showed no signs of abating in the mid market with circulation increasing 1% month on month to just under 2.5 million.

Quality Market

Year on year analysis of the quality market reveals significant year on year declines in circulation for all titles, with the exception of The Business, which improved by 48.3% in the six months to September 2003.

There was bad news for the Daily Telegraph, which saw circulation decrease by 7.6% year on year to 926,050. The Sunday Telegraph also fared poorly with circulation dropping by 8.4% during the same period to 1,357,869. However, the group recently decided to axe the practice of bulk sales, which has had a knock on effect on circulation.

Meanwhile, the Times experienced the sector’s largest year on year decline in percentage terms and dropped by 9% to 634,232. The Sunday Times also suffered with a 2.6% decline in the six months to September to 1,357,869.

Mid Market

Mid-market titles put in a steady performance during the six months ending September 2003. The Mail On Sunday was the only paper to experience a year on year decline, with circulation dropping by 0.5% to 2,352,947.

There was good news for Richard Desmond’s Express titles, which continued to benefit from a number of celebrity exclusives from OK! magazine. The Daily Express increased by 0.5% year on year to 974,211 and the Sunday Express rose 1.9% during the same period to 964,423.

Popular Market

Year on year analysis of the tabloid sector revealed a turbulent time amongst the popular press. The Daily Mirror saw circulation drop by 7.6% year on year to 1,956,039 and the People slipped by 16.3% during the same period to 1,105,399.

Meanwhile, News International’s Sun retained its position as sector leader, despite a 1.4% year on year decline in circulation to just over 3.5 million, down from 3,574,674 in the same period the previous year.

One bright spot in an otherwise gloomy market was provided by the Daily Star, which saw circulation improve by more than 25% year on year to 181,010 as its reliance on the traditional tabloid formula continued to prove a hit with its readers.

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