NRS National Newspaper Round-Up: September 2005
Daily Newspaper Market
Britain’s quality sector was the only area of the national daily newspaper market to see an increase in readership during the six months to September, with rises for the newly compact Guardian, as well as small-form rivals the Independent and Times.
Readership declines prevailed elsewhere, however, with the Financial Times suffering particularly heavy downturn, while the popular and mid market sectors saw similar depression across the board.
The Daily Mirror led the downturn in the popular sector, with a reader exodus costing the title 15.7% year on year. Arch rival and market leader the Sun also looked glum, shedding 9.7% in the same period.
Elsewhere, the Daily Mail and Daily Express suffered similar fates in the mid market, shedding 4.8% and 4.7% from their readerships respectively.
Quality Daily Titles
There were readership rises for all three national quality compacts in the six months to September, with the Independent seeing the largest upswing, at 23.7% year on year.
The Times also saw put in a good performance, adding 11.9% to its readership year on year, while the Guardian, which made the switch to the Berliner format in mid-September, achieved a 16.7% rise in the same period (see Guardian Hits Newsstands In Berliner Format).
Elsewhere the Financial Times saw a dismal set of NRS results, shedding 35.3% from its readership total, which now rests at 328,000. The title, which is expected to break even for the year as a whole (see Pearson Optimistic As FT Faces Break Even), has undergone wide-ranging cost cuts in recent months, while editor Andrew Gowers handed in his resignation last month, citing “strategic differences” with the paper’s management (see FT Editor Steps Down Citing ‘Strategic Differences’).
Market leader, the Daily Telegraph, also saw a decline in readership in the six months to September, losing 6.2% from its total year on year, but remaining head and shoulders above the competition.
Mid Market Daily Titles
Britain’s mid market daily titles both saw declines in readership in the six months to September, with the Daily Express and Daily Mail losing 4.7% and 4.8% from their totals respectively.
The downturn sees the Daily Express command a readership of almost 1.97 million, while the Daily Mail‘s total now sits at 5.49 million.
Popular Daily Titles
Daily popular titles saw a similar slump to their mid market counterparts in the six months to September, with declines in readership evident across the board.
The Daily Mirror saw the worst performance, shedding 15.7% from its total year on year, leaving the title with readers numbering 1.06 million.
The Daily Star saw similarly poor results, with a loss of 11.6% from its total in the same period. The market leading Sun also suffered, but retained its position as the nation’s best read title, despite a dip of 9.7% year on year.
The Daily Record saw the smallest decline of the sector, shedding 1.8% from its total, which now rests at 1.28 million.
| National Newspaper NRS Figures – September 2005 | ||||
| Daily Titles | Apr 04-Sep 04 | Apr 05-Sep 05 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Quality | ||||
| Daily Telegraph | 2,242,000 | 2,102,000 | -140,000 | -6.2 |
| Financial Times | 507,000 | 328,000 | -179,000 | -35.3 |
| Guardian | 1,022,000 | 1,193,000 | 171,000 | 16.7 |
| Independent | 575,000 | 711,000 | 136,000 | 23.7 |
| Times | 1,695,000 | 1,897,000 | 202,000 | 11.9 |
| Mid Market | ||||
| Daily Express | 2,066,000 | 1,968,000 | -98,000 | -4.7 |
| Daily Mail | 5,762,000 | 5,486,000 | -276,000 | -4.8 |
| Popular | ||||
| Daily Mirror | 4,778,000 | 4,028,000 | -750,000 | -15.7 |
| Daily Record | 1,299,000 | 1,276,000 | -23,000 | -1.8 |
| Daily Star | 2,020,000 | 1,785,000 | -235,000 | -11.6 |
| Sun | 8,906,000 | 8,045,000 | -861,000 | -9.7 |
| Total Daily | 30,872,000 | 28,819,000 | -2,053,000 | -6.7 |
Sunday Newspaper Market
Britain’s Sunday newspaper market saw a similarly mixed performance during the six months to September, with several rises in the quality sector marred by downturns across the board for the nation’s popular titles, and mixed fortunes for the mid market.
The Daily Star Sunday saw the largest decline in readership year on year, losing 11%, while the News of the World was similarly hard hit, seeing readership slip by 10.6%.
Quality Sunday Titles
The Observer saw the largest rise in readership amongst the nation’s Sunday titles in the six months to September, notching up a 17.9% increase year on year. The title, which is due to downsize to the Berliner format next year, now commands a readership of 1.26 million.
The Independent on Sunday also saw an increase, adding 16.4% in the same period to see its total rise to 754,000. The newspaper’s latest NRS results will be its last as a fully broadsheet title, following its decision to switch to tabloid format in October (see Independent On Sunday To Make Tabloid Switch).
Elsewhere, the Sunday Times saw a healthy 83.2% increase in readership year on year, while the Sunday Telegraph experienced a slight dip of 2.8% in the same period.
Mid Market Sunday Titles
The Mail on Sunday saw its readership increase in the six months to September, adding a healthy 1.2% to total 6.27 million. The Sunday Express suffered a downturn, meanwhile, losing 0.9% year on year to total 2.14 million.
Popular Sunday Titles
The Sunday popular market saw downturns in readership across the board in the six months to September, with the Daily Star Sunday leading the way, shedding 11% of its total year on year. The newspaper’s audience now totals 1.06 million.
Meanwhile, market leading News of the World experienced a dip of 10.6%, totaling 8.55 million to retain its position at the top of the Sunday pile.
The People saw a dip of 9.7% in the six months to September, while the Sunday Mirror saw the smallest decline, at 8.2% year on year.
| National Newspaper NRS Figures – September 2005 | ||||
| Sunday Titles | Apr 04-Sep 04 | Apr 05-Sep 05 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Quality | ||||
| Independent On Sunday. | 648,000 | 754,000 | 106,000 | 16.4 |
| Observer | 1,072,000 | 1,264,000 | 192,000 | 17.9 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 2,056,000 | 1,999,000 | -57,000 | -2.8 |
| Sunday Times | 3,181,000 | 3,441,000 | 260,000 | 8.2 |
| Mid Market | ||||
| Mail On Sunday. | 6,191,000 | 6,265,000 | 74,000 | 1.2 |
| Sunday Express | 2,160,000 | 2,140,000 | -20,000 | -0.9 |
| Popular | ||||
| Daily Star Sunday. | 1,190,000 | 1,059,000 | -131,000 | -11.0 |
| News Of The World | 9,568,000 | 8,554,000 | -1,014,000 | -10.6 |
| People | 2,207,000 | 1,992,000 | -215,000 | -9.7 |
| Sunday Mirror | 4,909,000 | 4,507,000 | -402,000 | -8.2 |
| Total Sunday | 33,182,000 | 31,975,000 | -1,207,000 | -3.6 |
NRS: 020 7242 8111 www.nrs.co.uk