National Newspaper ABCs – Sept 2014

Daily titles

September saw a mixed set of results for national newspaper circulations, although no daily titles recorded any significant change either way.

Up 3.3% period on period (PoP), the Financial Times recorded the highest increase in circulation in September – adding an extra 6,900 copies – followed by the Guardian which was up 1.6% to bag an extra 2,900.

Elsewhere in the quality market, the Independent, ‘i’ and The Times all recorded growth under 1%, PoP, while the Daily Telegraph was down -1.2% PoP to lose 6,400 copies on the previous month.

However, it was the Sun that saw the greatest decrease in circulation in September, down -4.2% PoP to lose almost 80,000 copies.

Next hardest hit was the Daily Express, with a -2.3% PoP decline losing the paper 11,000 copies.

Although marginal, a 0.8% PoP increase in circulation netted the Daily Mail an extra 13,900 copies; however, as with all other daily titles, the paper recorded a yearly decline in circulation.

The hardest hit titles over the year were the Daily Record (-14.5%), the Daily Star (-14.2%) and the Daily Express (-10.8%).

Overall national daily titles were down -1.3% PoP and -7.7% year on year (YoY).

London Free Press

There was a change of fortune for London’s free newspaper titles in September, with all recording growth over the month.

City A.M. managed to increase its circulation by 5.1% PoP, adding 5,500 copies, while a 1.5% PoP increase for the London Evening Standard gained it an extra 12,800.

Although slightly less notable, Metro (London) still managed a small 0.1% PoP increase, boosting its circulation by a little under 400 copies.

As is usual, City A.M. and Metro (London) were down over the year, while the Evening Standard, after extending its print run, was up almost 29% to add an extra 195,700 copies.

Overall the Free Press market was up 1.1% PoP and 11.5% YoY.

Sunday titles

In the Sunday market, all but one title was down over the period and every title was down year on year.

Standing on its own, The Sunday Times was the only paper to record any growth throughout the month, up 1.1% PoP (9,165 copies) to record a total circulation of more than 812,000.

Over the last year the title was down only 1.4%, making it the most resilient in the entire market.

In the quality market, the month’s worst performer was the Sunday Telegraph, down -2.2% (-9,000 copies). However, the paper still sells almost 396,000 copies each week.

The Independent on Sunday was next hardest hit, down -2.1% (-2,217 copies). The paper now records a total circulation of just over 102,000 (down -6.9% YoY).

Meanwhile, The Observer was down only -0.4% (-734 copies) and shifts a little over 200,000 each weekend.

In the mid-market, there was little change for the Mail on Sunday. The title was down just -0.7% – although, given the popularity of the paper, this translated as a drop of over 10,400 copies.

Year on year, the Mail on Sunday has dropped -8.1% but is still the UK’s second best-selling paper, flogging over 1.5 million copies each weekend.

The worst performer in the mid-market was the Sunday Express, down -2.9% PoP, losing over 12,400 copies.

In the popular market, the Daily Star Sunday was hit hardest with a -3% drop (-9,000), followed by The Sunday People with a -2.6% drop (-9,700).

The UK’s most popular Sunday paper, the Sun on Sunday, is still dropping in sales – the title was down -1.3% PoP and -11.4% YoY – but still sells almost 1.7 million copies.

Overall, the Sunday market was down -1.2% in September and -9.6% over the year.