Evening Standard pulls out of ABC audit

The London Evening Standard has pulled out from ABC’s monthly national newspaper audit, repositioning itself as a regional title for future circulation reports.

The Audit Bureau of Circulations confirmed today that the Evening Standard has decided to withdraw from it national listings, instead reporting regional figures.

However, the Evening Standard plans to continue reporting monthly circulation figures, despite regional titles normally recording data on a six-monthly basis.

In June’s ABC release, which was published earlier today, the Standard‘s circulation was up by around 12% month on month, taking its total to an impressive 236,075 copies (see Evening Standard’s circulation up 12% month on month).

Last month, the title argued that ABC figures did not fairly represent its real circulation because of its mid-month relaunch, which saw it introduce a new pricing and distribution strategy.

The new-look Evening Standard, which launched on May 11, recorded a 30% year on year decline in circulation in last month’s ABC audit (see Evening Standard’s circulation down almost 30% YoY).

An ABC spokesperson said today the bureau was unable to provide direct month-on-month and year-on-year sales comparisons because moving to a regional listing meant the Evening Standard was now being assessed under a different set of criteria.