October was a miserable month for newspaper circulation, with both national markets and the London free press recording period on period (PoP) and year on year (YoY) declines.
Although the daily and Sunday newspaper markets were down just -1.2% and -0.6% over the period, respectively, both markets recorded significant declines compared to October last year.
The overall circulation of national daily titles fell -8.9% YoY, whilst Sunday titles were down -10.5%.
The worst hit titles include the Sunday Post (-15.1% YoY), the Sunday Telegraph (-17.7% YoY), and the Daily Telegraph (down almost 23% YoY).
Only two national titles managed to record small period on period growth: The Observer (up 2.7%) and the Sunday Times (up 0.4%). However, both were still down over the year.
Meanwhile, the London free press saw circulation drop -2.3% PoP and -3.1% YoY, though individually City A.M, the London Evening Standard and the London Metro all saw their circulations increase over the month.
| Daily Titles | Oct-17 | Sep-18 | Oct-18 | YoY Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | |||||||
| Daily Telegraph | 465,802 | 363,002 | 360,117 | -105,685 | -22.7 | -2,885 | -0.8 |
| Financial Times | 192,478 | 182,523 | 181,205 | -11,273 | -5.9 | -1,318 | -0.7 |
| Guardian | 146,766 | 135,742 | 135,330 | -11,436 | -7.8 | -412 | -0.3 |
| i | 263,023 | 242,408 | 239,443 | -23,580 | -9.0 | -2,965 | -1.2 |
| Times | 444,493 | 424,876 | 421,009 | -23,484 | -5.3 | -3,867 | -0.9 |
| Mid Market | |||||||
| Daily Express | 368,959 | 333,460 | 327,011 | -41,948 | -11.4 | -6,449 | -1.9 |
| Daily Mail | 1,388,733 | 1,252,144 | 1,228,002 | -160,731 | -11.6 | -24,142 | -1.9 |
| Popular | |||||||
| Daily Mirror | 603,629 | 546,201 | 533,531 | -70,098 | -11.6 | -12,670 | -2.3 |
| Daily Record | 139,703 | 124,184 | 121,710 | -17,993 | -12.9 | -2,474 | -2.0 |
| Daily Star | 406,864 | 355,918 | 346,545 | -60,319 | -14.8 | -9,373 | -2.6 |
| Sun | 1,517,314 | 1,416,886 | 1,404,972 | -112,342 | -7.4 | -11,914 | -0.8 |
| Other | |||||||
| Metro (UK footprint – Mon-Fri) | 1,472,781 | 1,453,596 | 1,452,609 | -20,172 | -1.4 | -987 | -0.1 |
| Total Daily | 7,410,545 | 6,830,940 | 6,751,484 | -659,061 | -8.9 | -79,456 | -1.2 |
| Sunday Titles | Oct-17 | Sep-18 | Oct-18 | YoY Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | |||||||
| Observer | 177,279 | 163,417 | 167,821 | -9,458 | -5.3 | 4,404 | 2.7 |
| Sunday Times | 750,770 | 719,765 | 722,886 | -27,884 | -3.7 | 3,121 | 0.4 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 344,758 | 284,971 | 283,691 | -61,067 | -17.7 | -1,280 | -0.4 |
| Mid Market | |||||||
| Mail On Sunday | 1,195,035 | 1,051,489 | 1,038,743 | -156,292 | -13.1 | -12,746 | -1.2 |
| Sunday Express | 323,474 | 288,440 | 284,482 | -38,992 | -12.1 | -3,958 | -1.4 |
| Sunday Post | 130,381 | 111,515 | 110,683 | -19,698 | -15.1 | -832 | -0.7 |
| Popular | |||||||
| Daily Star Sunday. | 247,992 | 219,814 | 213,368 | -34,624 | -14.0 | -6,446 | -2.9 |
| Sunday People | 206,593 | 177,446 | 176,008 | -30,585 | -14.8 | -1,438 | -0.8 |
| Sun on Sunday | 1,295,842 | 1,208,596 | 1,202,128 | -93,714 | -7.2 | -6,468 | -0.5 |
| Sunday Mail | 148,105 | 126,666 | 126,409 | -21,696 | -14.6 | -257 | -0.2 |
| Sunday Mirror | 516,786 | 455,863 | 451,736 | -65,050 | -12.6 | -4,127 | -0.9 |
| Total Sunday | 5,337,015 | 4,807,982 | 4,777,955 | -559,060 | -10.5 | -30,027 | -0.6 |
| London Free Press | Oct-17 | Sep-18 | Oct-18 | YoY Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City A.M | 91,186 | 84,951 | 85,872 | -5,314 | -5.8 | 921 | 1.1 |
| London Evening Standard | 898,885 | 857,004 | 862,916 | -35,969 | -4.0 | 5,912 | 0.7 |
| Metro (London) | 892,451 | 869,604 | 874,484 | -17,967 | -2.0 | 4,880 | 0.6 |
| Total London Press | 1,882,522 | 1,866,783 | 1,823,272 | -59,250 | -3.1 | -43,511 | -2.3 |
| Daily Titles | May 17 – Oct 17 | Apr 18 – Sep 18 | May 18 – Oct 18 | YoY Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | |||||||
| Daily Telegraph | 475,541 | 371,734 | 369,096 | -106,445 | -22.4 | -2,638 | -0.7 |
| Financial Times | 190,209 | 180,912 | 180,623 | -9,586 | -5.0 | -289 | -0.2 |
| Guardian | 150,474 | 138,150 | 137,082 | -13,393 | -8.9 | -1,069 | -0.8 |
| i | 267,529 | 246,923 | 244,957 | -22,572 | -8.4 | -1,965 | -0.8 |
| Times | 450,875 | 429,088 | 427,142 | -23,733 | -5.3 | -1,946 | -0.5 |
| Mid Market | |||||||
| Daily Express | 377,361 | 339,235 | 336,254 | -41,107 | -10.9 | -2,981 | -0.9 |
| Daily Mail | 1,421,800 | 1,268,968 | 1,259,548 | -162,253 | -11.4 | -9,421 | -0.7 |
| Popular | |||||||
| Daily Mirror | 626,724 | 558,547 | 553,286 | -73,438 | -11.7 | -5,261 | -0.9 |
| Daily Record | 143,899 | 126,504 | 125,153 | -18,745 | -13.0 | -1,351 | -1.1 |
| Daily Star | 420,591 | 365,021 | 359,211 | -61,380 | -14.6 | -5,810 | -1.6 |
| Sun | 1,556,811 | 1,451,529 | 1,437,457 | -119,354 | -7.7 | -14,072 | -1.0 |
| Total Daily | 6,081,815 | 5,476,612 | 5,429,809 | -652,006 | -10.7 | -46,803 | -0.9 |
| Sunday Titles | May 17 – Oct 17 | Apr 18 – Sep 18 | May 18 – Oct 18 | YoY Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | |||||||
| Observer | 180,406 | 167,386 | 167,068 | -13,338 | -7.4 | -318 | -0.2 |
| Sunday Times | 771,886 | 731,909 | 730,150 | -41,736 | -5.4 | -1,758 | -0.2 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 350,587 | 291,812 | 290,549 | -60,038 | -17.1 | -1,262 | -0.4 |
| Mid Market | |||||||
| Sunday Express | 328,968 | 298,567 | 296,324 | -32,644 | -9.9 | -2,243 | -0.8 |
| Mail On Sunday | 1,221,766 | 1,069,919 | 1,064,906 | -156,860 | -12.8 | -5,012 | -0.5 |
| Sunday Post | 134,187 | 115,100 | 113,910 | -20,277 | -15.1 | -1,190 | -1.0 |
| Popular | |||||||
| Daily Star Sunday. | 252,940 | 222,511 | 220,483 | -32,457 | -12.8 | -2,028 | -0.9 |
| Sunday People | 215,493 | 184,460 | 182,475 | -33,018 | -15.3 | -1,985 | -1.1 |
| Sun on Sunday | 1,332,502 | 1,233,958 | 1,226,085 | -106,417 | -8.0 | -7,873 | -0.6 |
| Sunday Mail | 153,134 | 131,456 | 130,084 | -23,050 | -15.1 | -1,372 | -1.0 |
| Sunday Mirror | 542,292 | 473,017 | 468,231 | -74,062 | -13.7 | -4,786 | -1.0 |
| Total Sunday | 5,484,162 | 4,920,095 | 4,890,266 | -593,896 | -10.8 | -29,828 | -0.6 |
