National Newspaper ABC Round-Up – October 2000
Month on Month
The latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) show that sales of national newspapers fell by 1.2% during the month of October, effectively cancelling out the gain in overall circulation which occurred during September.
The biggest losses in month on month analysis were seen at high ranking popular title the Sun, where the loss of more than 166,000 copies translated into a month on month loss of 4.4%. The Daily Record also did badly during October, shedding 20,500 or 3.2% of its circulation.
The Independent on Sunday made the best gains in terms of percentage change, month on month, as 28,000 copies boosted its circulation by 11.6%. However, the recent growth in circulation at the Financial Times appeared to have lost its momentum during October, remaining steady, up just 0.5% at just under 476,500.
| National Newspaper October 2000 ABC Monthly Comparisons | ||||
| Title | Sep 2000 | Oct 2000 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Daily Express | 1,047,343 | 1,039,369 | -7,974 | -0.8 |
| Daily Mail | 2,398,973 | 2,391,229 | -7,744 | -0.3 |
| Daily Record | 631,449 | 610,950 | -20,499 | -3.2 |
| Daily Star | 554,393 | 549,754 | -4,639 | -0.8 |
| Daily Telegraph | 1,030,539 | 1,014,767 | -15,772 | -1.5 |
| Financial Times | 474,310 | 476,460 | 2,150 | 0.5 |
| Guardian | 402,565 | 401,567 | -998 | -0.2 |
| Independent | 227,314 | 240,272 | 12,958 | 5.7 |
| Independent On Sunday | 242,454 | 270,640 | 28,186 | 11.6 |
| Mail On Sunday | 2,294,172 | 2,292,001 | -2,171 | -0.1 |
| Mirror | 2,305,872 | 2,252,627 | -53,245 | -2.3 |
| News Of The World | 4,111,840 | 4,068,042 | -43,798 | -1.1 |
| Observer | 448,420 | 460,427 | 12,007 | 2.7 |
| Racing Post | 75,924 | 73,437 | -2,487 | -3.3 |
| Sport First | 77,845 | 81,947 | 4,102 | 5.3 |
| Sun | 3,755,646 | 3,589,204 | -166,442 | -4.4 |
| Sunday Business | 57,340 | 56,807 | -533 | -0.9 |
| Sunday Express | 971,680 | 967,178 | -4,502 | -0.5 |
| Sunday Mirror | 1,938,698 | 1,940,808 | 2,110 | 0.1 |
| Sunday People | 1,528,903 | 1,492,437 | -36,466 | -2.4 |
| Sunday Sport | 201,551 | 198,746 | -2,805 | -1.4 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 813,464 | 801,866 | -11,598 | -1.4 |
| Sunday Times | 1,402,063 | 1,411,942 | 9,879 | 0.7 |
| Times | 730,679 | 718,213 | -12,466 | -1.7 |
| Total | 26,676,094 | 26,361,321 | -314,773 | -1.2 |
Year on Year
Quality Market
The year on year analysis of the quality market shows a small rise of 1.5% overall. Business titles the Financial Times and Sunday Business continue their pattern of increasing circulation, with the FT adding 15.4% and the Sunday Business 8.9% during October.
The Observer also enjoyed a boost to its year on year readership figures, adding 8.9%, or just over 30,000 copies. The worst performer, like last month, was the Daily Telegraph, which dropped 2.1%
| Quality Market May 00- Oct ’00 ABC YoY Comparisons | ||||
| Title | May 99 – Oct 99 | May 00 – Oct 00 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Daily Telegraph | 1,042,002 | 1,026,634 | -15,368 | -1.5 |
| Financial Times | 400,007 | 461,733 | 61,726 | 15.4 |
| Guardian | 391,908 | 395,770 | 3,862 | 1.0 |
| Independent | 224,563 | 227,519 | 2,956 | 1.3 |
| Independent On Sunday | 245,543 | 247,061 | 1,518 | 0.6 |
| Observer | 400,296 | 435,851 | 35,555 | 8.9 |
| Sunday Business | 56,658 | 59,372 | 2,714 | 4.8 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 822,021 | 804,814 | -17,207 | -2.1 |
| Sunday Times | 1,343,119 | 1,356,010 | 12,891 | 1.0 |
| Times | 724,996 | 721,505 | -3,491 | -0.5 |
| Total | 5,651,113 | 5,736,269 | 85,156 | 1.5 |
Mid Market
A year on year analysis of the mid market titles shows that the sector remains more or less static, dropping just 0.5% overall. The only increase was provided by the Daily Mail, which added just 0.8%, while both Express titles dropped over 2% from their circulation.
| Mid Market May’00-Oct’00 ABC YoY Comparisons | ||||
| Title | May 99 – Oct 99 | May 00 – Oct 00 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Daily Express | 1,082,024 | 1,055,336 | -26,688 | -2.5 |
| Daily Mail | 2,370,695 | 2,389,489 | 18,794 | 0.8 |
| Mail On Sunday | 2,290,698 | 2,284,680 | -6,018 | -0.3 |
| Sunday Express | 993,224 | 971,183 | -22,041 | -2.2 |
| Total | 6,736,641 | 6,700,688 | -35,953 | -0.5 |
Popular Market
The popular market was the worst performing sector once again in the year on year analysis. An overall drop of 2.37% was not helped by Sport First, which shed 12.9%, or the Sunday People which fell by over 87,000 copies, or 5.46%. The Sunday Sport had more bad news, falling 5.27%.
Left to carry the flag for the popular titles were the Racing Posts and Daily Star– the only two titles to make gains this month. The Racing Post put in a modest increase of nearly 2%, while the Daily Star managed almost 3%.
| Popular Market May 00 – Oct 00 YoY Comparisons | ||||
| Title | May99-Oct99 | May00-Oct00 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Daily Record | 637,112 | 618,132 | -18,980 | -2.98 |
| Daily Star | 526,007 | 541,343 | 15,336 | 2.92 |
| Mirror | 2,346,970 | 2,278,542 | -68,428 | -2.92 |
| News Of The World | 4,106,937 | 4,027,585 | -79,352 | -1.93 |
| Racing Post | 77,324 | 78,843 | 1,519 | 1.96 |
| Sport First | 78,252 | 68,124 | -10,128 | -12.94 |
| Sun | 3,666,189 | 3,628,097 | -38,092 | -1.04 |
| Sunday Mirror | 1,997,098 | 1,932,761 | -64,337 | -3.22 |
| Sunday People | 1,597,958 | 1,510,772 | -87,186 | -5.46 |
| Sunday Sport | 210,244 | 199,168 | -11,076 | -5.27 |
| Total | 15,244,091 | 14,883,367 | -360,724 | -2.37 |
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