National Newspapers Continue To Struggle
Daily Market.
The nation’s daily newspaper market continued to perform badly with the sector as a whole losing 2.52% of sales year on year. Overall the market saw just three newspapers increase their circulation, with the Times, Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail managing to push their sales up.
The Daily Telegraph retained its position as market leader in the quality titles, reporting a slight increase in circulation figures.
Mid Market paper, the Daily Express suffered the largest decline out of the daily papers, dropping by 11% year on year.
Meanwhile, despite dropping slightly by 1%, the Sun remained Britains favourite daily newspaper, commanding an audience of over 3.34 million.
| National Newspaper ABC Figures – July 2005 | ||||
| Daily Titles | Jul-04 | Jul-05 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Quality | ||||
| Daily Telegraph | 904,981 | 912,319 | 7,338 | 0.8 |
| Financial Times | 421,179 | 410,306 | -10,873 | -2.6 |
| Guardian | 371,129 | 358,345 | -12,784 | -3.4 |
| Independent | 262,086 | 255,603 | -6,483 | -2.5 |
| Times | 650,448 | 698,043 | 47,595 | 7.3 |
| Mid Market | ||||
| Daily Express | 939,384 | 835,937 | -103,447 | -11.0 |
| Daily Mail | 2,418,743 | 2,420,601 | 1,858 | 0.1 |
| Popular | ||||
| Daily Mirror | 1,816,908 | 1,752,948 | -63,960 | -3.5 |
| Daily Record | 485,802 | 464,064 | -21,738 | -4.5 |
| Daily Star | 919,103 | 889,860 | -29,243 | -3.2 |
| Sun | 3,378,306 | 3,343,486 | -34,820 | -1.0 |
| Total Daily | 9,958,246 | 9,706,896 | -251,350 | -2.52 |
Quality Daily Titles.
The Times continued the strong growth enjoyed in last month’s ABC’s, reporting a 7.3% year on year increase, taking its circulation up to 698,043. The Daily Telegraph also gained readers, with a 0.8% rise for the same period.
Elsewhere, the Guardian dropped by 3.4% year on year, seeing its circulation dip to 358,345. The Financial Times and Independent followed suit, losing 2.6% and 2.5%, respectively.
Mid Market Daily Titles.
The mid market titles offered mixed results, with the Daily Express suffering the largest decline out of all the daily papers, dropping by 11% year on year, down to a circulation total of 835,937. The Daily Mail, however, managed to scrape up 0.1%, increasing its sales by just under 2,000.
Popular Daily Titles.
The popular daily newspaper division saw drops across the board, with all papers in the sector losing circulation.
The Daily Record and Daily Mirror lost 4.5% and 3.5% year on year, respectively, while the Daily Star also dipped by 3.2% in the same period, taking its circulation down to 889,860.
Meanwhile, the Sun followed the decline, losing 1% year on year, but retaining its position as Britain’s favourite daily title.
Sunday Market.
The depression seen in the daily newspaper market continued over into the Sunday sector, with all newspapers apart from two reporting declines in circulation figures, resulting in the market losing 3% as a whole.
The Sunday Times saw the biggest increase in circulation, enjoying an increase of 2.6% and further strengthening its dominance in the quality paper market.
Elsewhere, the Daily Star Sunday reported the biggest loss, dropping a dramatic 13.5% year on year, while the mid market saw similar declines, with the Sunday Express going down by 10%.
| National Newspaper ABC Figures – July 2005 | ||||
| Sunday Titles | Jul-04 | Jul-05 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Quality | ||||
| Independent On Sunday. | 209,003 | 206,689 | -2,314 | -1.1 |
| Observer | 441,193 | 445,738 | 4,545 | 1.0 |
| Sunday Times | 1,304,600 | 1,338,616 | 34,016 | 2.6 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 692,021 | 682,900 | -9,121 | -1.3 |
| Mid Market | ||||
| Mail On Sunday. | 2,412,785 | 2,261,511 | -151,274 | -6.3 |
| Sunday Express | 985,457 | 887,401 | -98,056 | -10.0 |
| Popular | ||||
| Daily Star Sunday. | 500,274 | 432,600 | -67,674 | -13.5 |
| News Of The World | 3,706,972 | 3,701,988 | -4,984 | -0.1 |
| People | 1,022,243 | 976,194 | -46,049 | -4.5 |
| Sunday Mirror | 1,569,781 | 1,548,851 | -20,930 | -1.3 |
| Total Sunday | 11,274,548 | 10,933,637 | -340,911 | -3.0 |
Quality Sunday Titles.
The quality papers produced mixed results for the Sunday market, with the Sunday Times and Observer both gaining 2.6% and 1% respectively.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Telegraph lost 1.3% year on year, followed by the Independent On Sunday which dropped by 1.1%, taking its circulation to 206,689.
Mid Market Sunday Titles.
The downwards trend continued into the mid market sector, with the Mail On Sunday and Sunday Express losing 6.3% and 10% respectively. The titles now command circulations of 2,261,511 and 887,401 respectively.
Popular Sunday Titles.
Once again, the Daily Star Sunday, saw the biggest drop in sales, losing 13.5% year on year, pushing its total down to 432,600.
Meanwhile, the People lost 4.5% of its circulation to total 976,194, while market leading News of the World retained its position in the top spot during July, despite a sales drop of just 0.1%.
Elsewhere, the Sunday Mirror dropped by 1.3% year on year and now commands a circulation of 1,548,851.