September ABCs: A good month for the Guardian and Observer

September proved a strong month for the Guardian and the Observer, with both Guardian Media Group newspapers outstripping the majority of the market in terms of period-on-period circulation growth, as well as recording the smallest year-on-year declines (excluding the free papers).

In the dailies market, the Guardian grew its print circulation 1.7% PoP to 130,500, beaten only by the Financial Times, which grew 3.8% to just over 169,000.

The Times and the Daily Mail also recorded marginal PoP circulation growth, up 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph was down -1.5%, the i was down -1.4%, and the Sun – the most popular title in the market – was down -2.2% to 1.2m.

In the Sunday market, the Observer recorded the strongest growth at 2.8% PoP, now circulating 159,800 copies. The Sunday Times also managed to record growth, up 0.7% to 659,700.

The entire rest of the market saw its circulation decline, with the Sunday Telegraph down -2%, the Sun on Sunday down -2.7%, the Mail on Sunday down -0.9% and the Sunday Mirror down -2.5%.

Elsewhere, the London freebies market continues to grow, with the London Evening Standard up 0.4% to a circulation of more than 820,000 and the Metro (London) up 1.2% to just under 856,000.