NRS National Newspaper Round-Up: October 2009 – September 2010
The latest NRS figures for October 2009 to September 2010 show fairly substantial year on year losses for most titles in the daily category, with the exception of the Daily Star, which posted a slight 0.3% increase in readers.
In terms of percentages, the Daily Record suffered the biggest drop – down by 13.4% – although the Daily Express and the Independent were not far behind.
However, the Daily Mirror lost the most actual readers during the period (a total of 360,000).
Daily Titles
- The Daily Star was the only title in the daily category to gain readers during the period, up 5,000 to 1.5 million in total.
- In the quality sector, The Times fared the worst, losing almost 190,000 readers, taking its total down to 1.6 million.
- Both mid-market titles saw a drop in readership – the Daily Express posted an 11% year on year decline, while the Daily Mail recorded a 4% decrease.
- In the red-top market, the Daily Mirror and Daily Record were among the worst hit titles, both suffering hefty losses during the period.
- The Sun witnessed a much smaller decrease than most, down by just 1.3% year on year. It remains the most read daily newspaper with a total of 7.7 million.
National Newspaper NRS Figures – October 09 – September 10
| Daily Titles | Oct 08-Sep 09 | Oct 09-Sep 10 | Actual Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | ||||
| Daily Telegraph | 1,843,000 | 1,751,000 | -92,000 | -5.0 |
| Financial Times | 433,000 | 391,000 | -42,000 | -9.7 |
| Guardian | 1,142,000 | 1,130,000 | -12,000 | -1.1 |
| Independent | 636,000 | 556,000 | -80,000 | -12.6 |
| Times | 1,802,000 | 1,613,000 | -189,000 | -10.5 |
| Mid Market | ||||
| Daily Express | 1,598,000 | 1,423,000 | -175,000 | -11.0 |
| Daily Mail | 4,936,000 | 4,739,000 | -197,000 | -4.0 |
| Popular | ||||
| Daily Mirror | 3,477,000 | 3,117,000 | -360,000 | -10.4 |
| Daily Record | 1,050,000 | 909,000 | -141,000 | -13.4 |
| Daily Star | 1,546,000 | 1,551,000 | 5,000 | 0.3 |
| Sun | 7,798,000 | 7,700,000 | -98,000 | -1.3 |
Sunday titles
- The Sunday titles followed a similar trend, with all but one title suffering fairly substantial declines during the period.
- The Daily Star Sunday achieved a decent 5.3% year on year rise – an increase of 47,000 readers – which takes its total to 941,000.
- The quality Sunday titles were the worst hit this period, with all four broadsheets posting fairly significant percentage drops. The Observer was down by more than 19% year on year.
- The Mail on Sunday also fared badly, with the highest actual loss in the Sunday category of 467,000 readers.
- The News of the World was better off than most titles, posting just a slight 0.4% year on year dip in readership. It holds on to its title as the most read Sunday newspaper with a total of more than 7.6 million readers.
National Newspaper NRS Figures – October 09 – September 10
| Sunday Titles | Oct 09-Sep 09 | Oct 09-Sep 10 | Actual Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | ||||
| Independent On Sunday | 619,000 | 594,000 | -25,000 | -4.0 |
| Observer | 1,335,000 | 1,078,000 | -257,000 | -19.3 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 1,662,000 | 1,518,000 | -144,000 | -8.7 |
| Sunday Times | 3,231,000 | 3,050,000 | -181,000 | -5.6 |
| Mid Market | ||||
| Mail On Sunday | 5,441,000 | 4,974,000 | -467,000 | -8.6 |
| Sunday Express | 1,629,000 | 1,518,000 | -111,000 | -6.8 |
| Popular | ||||
| Daily Star Sunday | 894,000 | 941,000 | 47,000 | 5.3 |
| News Of The World | 7,660,000 | 7,628,000 | -32,000 | -0.4 |
| People | 1,413,000 | 1,291,000 | -122,000 | -8.6 |
| Sunday Mirror | 3,840,000 | 3,816,000 | -24,000 | -0.6 |