Downward Trend Continues In National Newspapers
Daily Market
Britain’s daily newspaper market continued the downward trend seen in previous months with the sector as a whole losing 3.97% of sales year on year.
The Guardian saw the biggest circulation loss, dipping by 7.0% year on year, making it the largest loser in the quality titles division.
The Daily Telegraph, retained its position as the market leader for the quality newspaper division, and with the Independent, and Times both reporting increases in circulation, this sector was the only one which saw newspaper sales rise.
Meanwhile, the Sun dropped 3.5% year on year in circulation, losing over 100,000 readers, the popular newspaper still remains the nation’s favourite daily, commanding an audience of over 3,230,000.
| National Newspaper ABC Figures – June 2005 | ||||
| Daily Titles | Jun-04 | Jun-05 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Quality | ||||
| Daily Telegraph | 906,098 | 903,772 | -2,326 | -0.3 |
| Financial Times | 427,203 | 425,984 | -1,219 | -0.3 |
| Guardian | 388,584 | 361,408 | -27,176 | -7.0 |
| Independent | 261,575 | 262,124 | 549 | 0.2 |
| Times | 661,330 | 683,495 | 22,165 | 3.4 |
| Mid Market | ||||
| Daily Express | 957,876 | 893,184 | -64,692 | -6.8 |
| Daily Mail | 2,405,499 | 2,350,012 | -55,487 | -2.3 |
| Popular | ||||
| Daily Mirror | 1,833,980 | 1,742,378 | -91,602 | -5.0 |
| Daily Record | 491,685 | 462,472 | -29,213 | -5.9 |
| Daily Star | 890,810 | 855,612 | -35,198 | -4.0 |
| Sun | 3,348,320 | 3,230,652 | -117,668 | -3.5 |
| Total Daily | 9,928,170 | 9,534,310 | -393,860 | -3.97 |
Quality Daily Titles
The Times once again put in the best performance in the quality daily titles sector, rising by 3.4% year on year to reach sales of 683,495. The Independent also increased, albeit by just 0.2% for the same period.
Elsewhere, the Financial Times and Daily Telegraph both lost 0.3%, while the Guardian dropped the most dramatically, dropping by 7.0% year on year.
Mid Market Daily Titles
The Mid Market saw similar declines, with the Daily Mail losing 2.3% of its circulation year on year taking it’s total sales down to 2,350,012. The Daily Express also performed poorly, shedding 6.8% of its circulation over the same period.
Popular Daily Titles
The nation’s tabloid publications followed the depression seen throughout the market, with the Daily Star and Daily Mirror dropping by 4.0% and 5.0% respectively. The Sun followed the decline, losing 3.5% year on year, but retaining its position as Britain’s favourite daily title.
Sunday Market
The Sunday newspaper market was similarly depressed, dropping 4.4% in circulation overall, with all titles losing sales year on year.
The Daily Star Sunday was the worst hit in the sector, declining by a massive 15.9% and losing almost 80,000 sales. Overall, the popular newspapers saw the greatest dip in circulation figures year on year, however the mid market was hit by a 7% decline in circulation for the Sunday Express, taking its circulation down to 931,608.
The Sunday Times saw the smallest decline in the quality titles, dropping by just 1.4% year on year, compared to the Observer which was the biggest loser in the sector with a 4.1% year on year drop in sales.
| National Newspaper ABC Figures – June 2005 | ||||
| Sunday Titles | Jun-04 | Jun-05 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Quality | ||||
| Independent On Sunday. | 210,015 | 206,007 | -4,008 | -1.9 |
| Observer | 460,239 | 441,187 | -19,052 | -4.1 |
| Sunday Times | 1,344,326 | 1,325,292 | -19,034 | -1.4 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 697,655 | 674,531 | -23,124 | -3.3 |
| Mid Market | ||||
| Mail On Sunday. | 2,273,213 | 2,253,480 | -19,733 | -0.9 |
| Sunday Express | 1,002,145 | 931,608 | -70,537 | -7.0 |
| Popular | ||||
| Daily Star Sunday. | 500,461 | 420,905 | -79,556 | -15.9 |
| News Of The World | 3,735,839 | 3,563,073 | -172,766 | -4.6 |
| People | 1,004,480 | 913,618 | -90,862 | -9.0 |
| Sunday Mirror | 1,524,560 | 1,485,485 | -39,075 | -2.6 |
| Total Sunday | 11,228,373 | 10,729,701 | -498,672 | -4.4 |
Quality Sunday Titles
All newspapers in the quality Sunday titles division lost circulation, with the Observer citing the biggest loss, down 4.1% to command a circulation of 441,187, making it the nation’s lowest selling Sunday broad-sheet.
The Sunday Telegraph saw a 3.3% downturn in sales, pushing its total to 674,531, while the Independent on Sunday lost 1.9% for the same period.
The Sunday Times retained its position as Britain’s favoured Sunday paper, despite losing 1.4% year on year and bringing its circulation down to 1,325,292.
Mid Market Sunday Titles
The downwards trend continued into the mid market sector, with both the Mail on Sunday and the Sunday Express losing 0.9% and 7.0% respectively. The titles now command circulations of 2,253,480 and 931,608 respectively.
Popular Sunday Titles
The Daily Star Sunday saw the biggest drop in sales, losing a massive 16.9% drop, pushing its total down to 420,905 from almost half a million a year ago.
Meanwhile, the People lost 9.0% of its circulation to total 913,618, while market-leading News of the World retained its position in the top spot during June, despite a sales drop of 4.6%.
Elsewhere, the Sunday Mirror lost 2.6% year on year and now commands a circulation of 1,485,485.