NRS National Newspaper Round-Up: March 2007
Daily Newspaper Market
Readership figures from the NRS for Britain’s national daily newspapers remained fairly static year on year for October 2006 to March 2007.
All Quality dailies, with the exception of the Times, saw their readerships rise. The Guardian bolstered its readership by almost 100,000 to more than 1.2 million, whilst the Daily Telegraph added 75,000 readers.
Both the Daily Express and the Daily Mail shed readers year on year in the Mid-Market sector, whilst the Daily Record and the Sun also lost readers in the Popular sector.
The Daily Star recorded the most success of the Popular titles, growing its readership by more than 170,000 year on year to leave its total at more than 1.7 million.
Quality Daily Titles
Most titles in the Quality daily sector recorded a successful period, according to the latest NRS figures for October 2006 to March 2007.
The Times was the only title in the sector to record a downturn, losing more than 80,000 copies year on year to leave its total at a little over 1.7 million.
The Guardian added 8.5% more readers to its total, a rise of almost 100,000, to leave its final figure at more than 1.2 million readers.
Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph remained the most read paper in the Quality daily sector, widening the gap between itself and the Times by adding 75,000 readers year on year for the period. The title now boasts a readership of more than 2.1 million.
The Independent also added readers, more than 50,000, to leave its total at just over 800,000.
Mid-Market Daily Titles
Both titles in the Mid-Market daily sector shed readers year on year for the period.
Market leader the Daily Mail suffered the largest actual loss of readers in the whole daily market, dropping 222,000 or more than 4%. However, it remains well read with a total readership of 5.2 million.
The Daily Express‘ readership fell by 1% or 17,000 to leave its total standing at more than 1.7 million.
Popular Daily Titles
It was a mixed picture for the Popular daily sector, with some titles boosting their readership and others seeing readers depart or move online.
The Daily Star added 11% to its readership total, rising by more than 170,000 to leave its total at more than 1.7 million readers. The Daily Mirror also pushed its total up, by around 40,000. Its total now stands at almost four million.
However, the Daily Record lost almost 60,000 year on year for the period (4.7%) whilst the Sun‘s readership fell by almost 70,000 (less than 1%). The titles now have readership totals of more than 1.1 million and around eight million respectively.
| National Newspaper NRS Figures – Oct 06-Mar 07 | ||||
| Daily Titles | Oct 05-Mar 06 | Oct 06-Mar 07 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Quality | ||||
| Daily Telegraph | 2,061,000 | 2,136,000 | 75,000 | 3.6 |
| Guardian | 1,158,000 | 1,256,000 | 98,000 | 8.5 |
| Independent | 751,000 | 802,000 | 51,000 | 6.8 |
| Times | 1,809,000 | 1,726,000 | -83,000 | -4.6 |
| Mid Market | ||||
| Daily Express | 1,784,000 | 1,767,000 | -17,000 | -1.0 |
| Daily Mail | 5,427,000 | 5,205,000 | -222,000 | -4.1 |
| Popular | ||||
| Daily Mirror | 3,884,000 | 3,923,000 | 39,000 | 1.0 |
| Daily Record | 1,193,000 | 1,137,000 | -56,000 | -4.7 |
| Daily Star | 1,580,000 | 1,754,000 | 174,000 | 11.0 |
| Sun | 8,073,000 | 8,004,000 | -69,000 | -0.9 |
| Total Daily | 27,720,000 | 27,710,000 | -10,000 | -0.0 |
Sunday Newspaper Market
The Sunday Newspaper market suffered a readership decline of 1.4% for the six months to March 2007, a fall in real terms of almost 435,000.
Only one title in the Sunday Popular sector recorded a decline, the People. It lost more than 250,000 readers year on year to leave its total figure just short of 1.7 million.
Likewise, only one title in the Quality sector recorded a decline, with the Sunday Telegraph shedding almost 120,000 readers year on year. However, both Mid-Market Sunday titles saw a fall in their total readership.
Quality Sunday Titles
The Observer recorded the biggest increase in readership in the Sunday Quality sector in percentage terms, at almost 5% year on year, an increase of more than 65,000 readers in real terms. The title now records a total of more than 1.4 million readers.
Meanwhile, the largest increase in real terms was enjoyed by the Sunday Times, which added almost 90,000 readers year on year. It remains the most read Sunday quality title, with a total figure of more than 3.5 million.
The Independent On Sunday was up by more than 15,000 readers year on year, or just over 2%, taking its total figure to around 790,000.
The Sunday Telegraph was the only Quality Sunday title to suffer a decline in readership in March, down by over 6% year on year. The loss of almost 120,000 readers leaves its total at more than 1.8 million.
Mid-Market Sunday Titles
In the Mid-Market, the Mail On Sunday and the Sunday Express both recorded year on year declines in readership.
The Mail On Sunday suffered a fall of just over 5% year on year, a decline which leaves it with a total readership figure of over 5.8 million.
The Sunday Express was down by almost 2.5% year on year, taking its total to around two million readers.
Popular Sunday Titles
In the Popular Sunday sector, the People was the only title to record a year on year decline in readers, of more than 250,000. Its total readership figure now stands at almost 1.7 million.
The Sunday Mirror and the Daily Star Sunday both recorded similar year on year rises in real terms in March, of just over 50,000 readers. The titles’ readerships now rest at almost 4.3 million and almost one million respectively.
The News Of The World remained the most read of the Sunday titles, with a total figure of almost 8.6 million. It enjoyed an increase in readers of just over 30,000.
| National Newspaper NRS Figures – Oct 06-Mar 07 | ||||
| Sunday Titles | Oct 05-Mar 06 | Oct 06-Mar 07 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Quality | ||||
| Independent On Sunday | 775,000 | 792,000 | 17,000 | 2.2 |
| Observer | 1,378,000 | 1,445,000 | 67,000 | 4.9 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 1,947,000 | 1,829,000 | -118,000 | -6.1 |
| Sunday Times | 3,478,000 | 3,566,000 | 88,000 | 2.5 |
| Mid Market | ||||
| Mail On Sunday | 6,146,000 | 5,827,000 | -319,000 | -5.2 |
| Sunday Express | 2,099,000 | 2,048,000 | -51,000 | -2.4 |
| Popular | ||||
| Daily Star Sunday | 932,000 | 984,000 | 52,000 | 5.6 |
| News Of The World | 8,562,000 | 8,593,000 | 31,000 | 0.4 |
| People | 1,945,000 | 1,693,000 | -252,000 | -13.0 |
| Sunday Mirror | 4,228,000 | 4,279,000 | 51,000 | 1.2 |
| Total Sunday | 31,490,000 | 31,056,000 | -434,000 | -1.4 |
NRS: 020 7242 8111 www.nrs.co.uk