FT Ends 2005 With Circulation High
The latest ABC figures released today will give the Financial Times cause for celebration, as the paper reaches its highest circulation since May 2004.
A healthy increase of 2.7% year on year for December gives the newspaper a total circulation of 439,563, just one month after editor Andrew Gowers resigned, citing “strategic differences” with the FT‘s management (see FT Editor Steps Down Citing ‘Strategic Differences’).
The increased circulation should also help the paper’s financial situation, with publisher Pearson announcing last year that it expected the title to break even in 2005, with a possible return to profit this year (see Pearson Optimistic As FT Faces Break Even).
Elsewhere in the quality sector, compact titles the Times and Guardian continuing to benefit from their reduced size, adding 1.4% and 5.8% to their respective circulations year on year. Meanwhile, fellow compact the Independent suffered a 0.9% downturn in the same period.
The new figures will make welcome reading for the management of the Guardian, which adopted the Berliner format in September 2005, ending its life as a fully-fledged broadsheet (see Guardian Hits Newsstands In Berliner Format). The title has seen consistent circulation rises since adopting the new size, while Sunday sister title the Observer followed its lead in adopting the format earlier this month (see Observer Makes Transition To Berliner Format).
Things were less optimistic within the daily mid-market and popular sectors, however, with circulation decreases across the board.
The Daily Express was the worst hit of all national daily newspapers, shedding 10.9% of its sales year on year in December, leaving its total circulation at 800,403. Mid-market rival the Daily Mail also suffered, losing 0.3% from its circulation in the same period, but remaining one of the nation’s favourite titles, with sales of over 2.3 million.
Both mid-market titles recently announced cuts to their cover price in an effort to boost sales, pricing themselves at 30p, with speculation suggesting that the reductions could herald the beginning of a full-blown newspaper price war (see Price War Looms As Newspapers Cut Costs).
The Sunday newspaper market looked similarly depressed in December, with only the Independent on Sunday and the Sunday Times seeing circulation increases.
The newly-tabloid Independent on Sunday saw the largest rise in sales, adding an impressive 7.2% year on year following its switch to compact format in October 2005 (see Independent On Sunday To Make Tabloid Switch).
The Daily Star Sunday put in the worst performance of all the Sunday titles during December, shedding a 26.8% of its sales to give a total circulation of 382,231.
The latest ABC figures are available in MediaTel.co.uk’s press database now. A full breakdown of the latest data will be available on NewsLine this afternoon, with detailed analysis for both weekday and weekend titles by market sector.
ABC: 01442 870 800 www.abc.org.uk