Lebedev’s i publishes debut ABC figure of 133,472

The Independent announced figures for its 20p spin-off title i for the first time in today’s ABC National Newspaper release.

In January, i‘s total circulation reached 133,472 while the Independent‘s hit 185,035. Together, the two titles posted a combined circulation of 318,507 copies.

Last month, the Indy is thought to have promised a combined circulation of 340,000 when it was in talks with agencies about the possibly of increasing ad rates on the basis of a bundled package for ad space in the two newspapers.

At the time, sources believe an increased advertising rate would be hard to achieve without official sales figures for i.

In today’s ABC release, the Independent enjoyed a 5.7% period on period increase in circulation – pushing the overall figures for the group’s titles – however, it suffered a slight 0.4% dip over the year.

It followed the overall trend of the national newspaper market, which enjoyed a 6% period on period rise but a 3.1% year on year decline.

It was a similar story in the Sunday newspaper market, which was up 4.1% period on period but down 6.6% year on year.