ABC National Newspaper Round-Up – September 2004

The Guardian finally appears to have put an end to its recent sales slump with a healthy 3.2% increase in circulation during September to just under the 380,000 mark, according to the latest monthly ABC results.

The newspaper has yet to launch its reduced size offering, believed to be in the Berliner format following a £50 million investment from parent company, Guardian Media Group. The Berliner size and shape is currently used in France by Le Monde and was recently embraced by former tabloid Les Echos Preserves (see Guardian Takes Titles Compact With £50 Million Investment).

Compact editions have proved their worth in several instances, with The Independent continuing to perform well, despite an inevitable slow-down in growth as the title celebrates its first birthday as a tabloid. The title saw a 0.8% increase in September and now has a circulation approaching 265,000.

The Times has also seen its circulation rise, climbing by 2.0% during the same period. The newspaper claims that its circulation of just under 661,000 is increasingly made up of young, upmarket readers who are attracted by the compact edition. However, The Times has drawn criticism over its plans for a nation-wide roll-out of its compact edition, with readers complaining that the broadsheet version is not always available (see Times Under Fire As Compact Edition Goes National).

The Financial Times saw September’s largest circulation rise, adding 7.7% as the markets saw an upturn. The paper’s circulation of 437,717 is a respectable increase on last month and follows research naming the FT as the most popular European business title in terms of audience coverage among the business community (see Financial Times Is Voted Top European Business Title).

A mixed bag of results amongst Sunday titles resulted in several ups and downs during September, with the Sunday Times and News International stablemate News of the World seeing rises of 3.4% and 3.8% respectively. Elsewhere, the Sunday Express and the Sunday Mirror both saw declines of 4.6%, claiming joint positions with the largest declining circulations.

Quality Titles

The Business continued to see a massive increase in its circulation, rising by 67.1% year on year in the six months to September as the newspaper still appeared to enjoy the benefits of a now deceased circulation deal with the Daily Mail. The Independent also saw an impressive increase in circulation, notching up a 19.0% rise in the same period to give a total of just over 262,000.

Mid-Market Titles

Express titles served to bookend the mid-market section during the six months to September, with the Sunday Express experiencing a 2.5% increase year on year, while its daily counterpart saw circulation decline by 2.6% in the same period. However, the market continues to be dominated by the Daily Mail with a circulation of over 2.4 million despite a 0.9% decline year on year in the six months to September.

Popular Titles

Almost all popular titles saw a decline in the six months to September, with only the Daily Star and its Sunday sister title seeing any improvement on their circulations. The Daily Star rose by 1.3% year on year, while the Daily Star Sunday notched up a 0.9% increase. The Sunday Sport saw the largest percentage drop, losing 13.3% year on year to 157,048.

Metro Titles

Associates Newspapers’ Metro titles continued to perform well in the six months to September, proving popular with commuters and seeing their overall certified distribution rise by 5.7% year on year. London Metro in particular performed admirably, rising by 10.1% year on year and fast approaching a total circulation of 500,000.

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