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Regional Press Enjoys Strong Revenue Growth, But Less Impressive Circulation Trends

Regional Press Enjoys Strong Revenue Growth, But Less Impressive Circulation Trends

The regional press advertising market is currently enjoying a period of significant growth, according to figures recently released by the Advertising Association (AA).

AA figures show that ad revenue was up by 8.5% to £2.237 billion between 1996 and 1997, although the Newspaper Society (NS) conducted a survey recently which showed growth to be higher still, at over 12%. Further growth is predicted by the NS, although the rate is certainly expected to slow. Fears that a general recession may be on the horizon may mean that the ad market for regionals has already peaked.

Circulations, however, are not looking quite so rosy. Few of the main regional papers have seen any significant movement in their circulations over the last three years according to Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) figures.

Regional Titles’ Circulation Jul-Dec ’95 – Jul-Dec ’97

Title Jul 95 – Dec 95 Jul 96 – Dec 96 Jan 97 – Jun 97 Jul 97 – Dec 97 % Change (Jul-Dec 95 to Jul-Dec 97)
Birmingham Evening Mail 197532 191746 195060 192188 -2.7
Dundee Courier & Advertiser 103768 100720 99820 97727 -5.8
Dundee Evening Telegraph 35584 34036 34505 32752 -8.0
Edinburgh Evening News 86102 85650 85502 82846 -3.8
Evening Standard 441287 435028 439973 449020 1.8
Glasgow Herald 106192 107527 104844 102682 -3.3
Liverpool Echo 160861 159734 161807 159800 -0.7
Manchester Evening News 180620 171463 181313 173191 -4.1
Newcastle Evening Chronicle 118360 112429 113841 111466 -5.8
Scotsman 76961 77057 78762 81330 5.7
Yorkshire Post 76771 75528 78282 75825 -1.2

Indeed most of the key daily titles shown here have suffered losses in circulation, albeit relatively minor ones. The Scotsman is currently doing fairly well with ABC figures up by 5.7% between 1995 and 1997, selling over 80,000 copies; readership is also up for the paper according to data released by the National Readership Survey (NRS) this week. Circulations for the Birmingham Evening Mail and the Manchester Evening News are both down slightly over the last three years. The Yorkshire Post is also selling fewer copies and losing readers according to its ABC and NRS figures.

Overall though, sales of regional titles appear steady at present, unlike the national press which, with a few exceptions, is losing significant circulation month after month.

Charles Ross, NS national development manager, is concerned that regional newspapers still have a serious image problem. Advertisers, he said, regard them as “invisible and lacking credibility”. To combat this, Ross and his colleagues are currently embarking on giving the industry a ‘face-lift’ through a marketing and promotional campaign.

A version of this article appeared in The Times mediawatch page last Friday.

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