October ABCs: FT and Observer buck the trend as circulations drop

After a promising September, the majority of newsbrands saw their circulations drop period-on-period in October, according to the latest figures from ABC – with a few exceptions in the Sunday market, as well as The Metro and The Financial Times.

Here are the key points to take away from the data:

1. The Financial Times and The Observer record growth over the month

The Financial Times was the only title in the daily newsbrand market to grow its circulation period-on-period (PoP) – up by 1,398 copies or 1.3%.

In the Sunday market the same could be said of The Observer, which saw its circulation rise by 1,646 copies over the month, or 1.1%. The Daily Star Sunday and Mail on Sunday remained steady, while the rest of the Sunday titles saw their circulations dip.

2. The Guardian and the Daily Mail performed the best year-on-year (YoY)

Although all daily newsbrands saw a dip in circulations YoY, the Guardian and the Daily Mail recorded the smallest declines at -13.5% and -12.3%, respectively.

3. For another month, Sunday titles collectively fared better than the dailies

Overall, the Sunday market was down by -12.5% YoY, compared to -26.7% for the dailies.

4. As commuter numbers rose, so did The Metro’s figures

The Metro (UK footprint – Mon-Fri) saw its circulation rise period-on-period (PoP) by 133,621 copies, or 20.5%, across the country.

With an increase of 73,652 copies, or 18.6%, for The Metro London, the data suggests that more people were venturing back to work last month. However, these figures reflect the final month before the second lockdown came into effect, so we can expect to see a drop in circulation for the freebie titles in November.

It should be noted that circulation figures for the Sun, Sun on Sunday, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph, Times and Sunday Times have not been publicly reported by ABC, following the implementation of new reporting options which allow publishers to opt out of making their figures publicly available.

A complete breakdown of the circulation figures for each newsbrand can be found by Mediatel Connected subscribers in the tables below.