ABC Regional Newspapers: Jan-Jun 2006

The latest ABC figures show that the circulation of all regional daily newspapers across England, Scotland and Wales have declined year on year for the six-month period from January-June 2006.

The Liverpool Echo has overtaken the Manchester Evening News, despite a year on year circulation decline of more than 6%. The MEN and the Pink saw a year on year circulation decline of 17.5%. The West Midlands Express & Star – All Editions have the highest circulation figures in England with more than 150,000 copies.

All of the free regional newspaper groups saw their total circulations fall year on year, whilst there were a few glimmers of hope for the paid groups, with the Sunday World – All Editions Group and the Southend Standard Group recording minor increases in their circulations.

In keeping with the rest of the regional press, the paid newspaper market performed badly in the six months to June 30 2006, with only the Sunday World – All Editions Group and the Southend Standard Group managing to record circulation increases among the top ten publishers, and even then those increases were of quite small proportions.

Sunday World – All Editions Group maintained its position as the group with the highest circulation figure, at 274,143. It saw a 0.2% increase year on year, which equates to 476 sales in real terms, whilst the Southend Standard Group managed an increase of 0.1% year on year, just 114 extra copies.

The biggest losses were suffered by the Kent Messenger Weekly Newspaper Group, which suffered the largest loss in real terms, of around 7,300, a 4.6% year on year loss in the six months to June, and the Cornish Weekly Newspapers Group, which recorded a loss of almost 6% year on year, which equates to a loss of around 6,470 in real terms. In addition, the Surrey Advertiser All Papers Group recorded the biggest percentage loss of the top ten paid regional newspaper groups, of 7.2% year on year.

Of the top ten paid regional newspaper groups which suffered declining circulations, the smallest loss, both in real terms and percentage wise, was felt by the North Herts Advertiser Group, recording a 0.3% drop in circulation, leaving it with a total circulation figure of around 107,130.

It was a very poor six months for the nation’s top ten paid for regional titles, with all of them recording declines in the period to June 30.

The worst hit title in the top ten was the Manchester Evening News & The Pink, which saw the largest drop in both real terms and percentage wise, seeing a year on year decline of 17.5%, equating to a drop in circulation of around 25,300 in real terms. However, it should be noted that the Manchester Evening News gives away 60,000 free copies.

The West Midlands Express & Star – All Editions, the biggest selling title in England in the paid for regional paper market, saw a drop of 4.3%, leaving it with a total circulation figure of around 151,000.

The Birmingham Mail also saw a big year on year drop in sales, with a 17.1% drop leaving it with a total circulation figure of around 78,200.

The smallest decrease within the top 10, both in real terms and percentage wise was recorded by the top selling title, the Sunday World – Republic of Ireland Edition, which shed just 2,129 year on year, a comparatively good performance compared to the rest of the paid for market.

Northcliffe Newspapers Group, the biggest group in the free newspaper sector, has suffered the largest actual loss of circulation year on year for the six-month period from January to June, according to the latest ABC figures.

The circulation of the company’s titles dropped by more than 159,000, a decline of more than 6%, to leave it with a combined total circulation of 2.45 million, whilst Trinity Mirror Southern fell by nearly 67,500 copies, an almost 3% loss to give it a total circulation of 2.38 million.

Other groups also suffered year on year, with the Kent Messenger Extra Group feeling an almost 6% decline, a loss of more than 39,500 issues.

Meanwhile, Observer Standard Newspapers Limited Group felt the most sizeable percentage loss in circulation, shedding more than 7% of its titles, or almost 40,000 copies.

Other companies in the sector felt marginal losses, with the Adscene Group dipping by just 0.8% year on year, with its free papers losing almost 2,900 editions, whilst Newsquest (Midlands South) Ltd shed almost 2,600 copies, a 0.7% fall. The groups now command a circulation of almost 358,000 and more than 351,000 respectively.

ABC: 01442 870 800 www.abc.org.uk