National Newspaper ABC Round-Up – December 2001

Once again, ABC figures for national newspaper circulation were down in a month on month comparison. December’s figures showed an overall drop of 2.7% compared to November’s total.

One of a handful of increases was at the Financial Times, which increased its circulation by over 17,000 or 3.5% compared to November. The Sunday Express, not usually the best performer, also showed signs of health this month, increasing circulation by 2% or just over 16,000.

At the other extreme, Sport First saw a heavy percentage drop in a month on month analysis, of 18.1%. However, the largest drop in numbers of copies was at the News Of The World, which shed over 135,000, leaving it with an average December circulation of 3.8m.

Quality Market

Year on year the quality market saw a modest increase of 1.3% for the July-December period. The only significant dip in circulation was at the Independent on Sunday, which dropped 3.5%.

The best performers in the quality market were in the GMG stable. The Guardian saw a year on year increase of 4.8% or well over 18,000, taking its average circulation above the 400,000 mark. Meanwhile the Observer was up 7.2% compared to November, with an increase of 32,000.

Mid Market

The pattern continues as usual in the mid market, with the Mail titles dominating, with circulation figures that are well over twice their Express counterparts’. The total circulation of the sector barely changed year on year.

Both Mail titles saw small year on year increases for the July-December period of around 4%, while the Daily Express saw a 7.3% decrease and the Sunday Express dropped 9.7%. Both Northern & Shell titles now languish firmly below the 1m circulation mark.

Popular Market

The tabloid market dropped 2.1% of its circulation overall in a year on year comparison. At individual titles, however, fortunes were more mixed.

The Daily Star was the best performer, news which must come as some comfort to owner Richard Desmond in the light of figures for the Express titles (see above). The Star’s circulation was up 13.4% for the July-December period, although it still has some way to go to reach the leading titles in the market.

The Sunday People brought up the rear in terms of percentage change in circulation. Its fall of 7.8% translated into a loss of over 100,000, but with a circulation of 1.38m, it remains among the top five popular titles.