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.
| Daily Titles | Sep-18 | Aug-19 | Sep-19 | YoY Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | |||||||
| Daily Telegraph | 363,002 | 315,270 | 310,586 | -52,416 | -14.4 | -4,684 | -1.5 |
| Financial Times | 182,523 | 162,972 | 169,127 | -13,396 | -7.3 | 6,155 | 3.8 |
| Guardian | 135,742 | 128,265 | 130,496 | -5,246 | -3.9 | 2,231 | 1.7 |
| i | 242,408 | 228,754 | 225,496 | -16,912 | -7.0 | -3,258 | -1.4 |
| Times | 424,876 | 371,559 | 372,812 | -52,064 | -12.3 | 1,253 | 0.3 |
| Mid Market | |||||||
| Daily Express | 333,460 | 305,629 | 303,243 | -30,217 | -9.1 | -2,386 | -0.8 |
| Daily Mail | 1,252,144 | 1,164,025 | 1,166,500 | -85,644 | -6.8 | 2,475 | 0.2 |
| Popular | |||||||
| Daily Mirror | 546,201 | 482,194 | 474,055 | -72,146 | -13.2 | -8,139 | -1.7 |
| Daily Record | 124,184 | 111,829 | 109,908 | -14,276 | -11.5 | -1,921 | -1.7 |
| Daily Star | 355,918 | 303,425 | 296,473 | -59,445 | -16.7 | -6,952 | -2.3 |
| Sun | 1,416,886 | 1,268,839 | 1,240,959 | -175,927 | -12.4 | -27,880 | -2.2 |
| Other | |||||||
| Metro (UK footprint – Mon-Fri) | 1,453,596 | 1,402,836 | 1,415,071 | -38,525 | -2.7 | 12,235 | 0.9 |
| Total Daily | 6,830,940 | 6,245,597 | 6,214,726 | -616,214 | -9.0 | -30,871 | -0.5 |
| Sunday Titles | Sep-18 | Aug-19 | Sep-19 | YoY Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | |||||||
| Observer | 163,417 | 155,465 | 159,780 | -3,637 | -2.2 | 4,315 | 2.8 |
| Sunday Times | 719,765 | 655,103 | 659,699 | -60,066 | -8.3 | 4,596 | 0.7 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 284,971 | 249,425 | 244,351 | -40,620 | -14.3 | -5,074 | -2.0 |
| Mid Market | |||||||
| Mail On Sunday | 1,051,489 | 979,169 | 969,894 | -81,595 | -7.8 | -9,275 | -0.9 |
| Sunday Express | 288,440 | 265,699 | 262,070 | -26,370 | -9.1 | -3,629 | -1.4 |
| Sunday Post | 111,515 | 94,732 | 94,559 | -16,956 | -15.2 | -173 | -0.2 |
| Popular | |||||||
| Daily Star Sunday. | 219,814 | 180,923 | 176,949 | -42,865 | -19.5 | -3,974 | -2.2 |
| Sunday People | 177,446 | 150,437 | 145,547 | -31,899 | -18.0 | -4,890 | -3.3 |
| Sun on Sunday | 1,208,596 | 1,081,726 | 1,052,465 | -156,131 | -12.9 | -29,261 | -2.7 |
| Sunday Mail | 126,666 | 112,499 | 108,742 | -17,924 | -14.2 | -3,757 | -3.3 |
| Sunday Mirror | 455,863 | 395,932 | 386,004 | -69,859 | -15.3 | -9,928 | -2.5 |
| Total Sunday | 4,807,982 | 4,321,110 | 4,260,060 | -547,922 | -11.4 | -61,050 | -1.4 |
| London Free Press | Sep-18 | Aug-19 | Sep-19 | YoY Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City A.M | 84,951 | 76,030 | 82,331 | -2,620 | -3.1 | 6,301 | 8.3 |
| London Evening Standard | 857,004 | 816,813 | 820,180 | -36,824 | -4.3 | 3,367 | 0.4 |
| Metro (London) | 869,604 | 845,577 | 855,828 | -13,776 | -1.6 | 10,251 | 1.2 |
| Total London Press | 1,811,559 | 1,866,783 | 1,758,339 | -53,220 | -2.9 | -108,444 | -5.8 |
| Daily Titles | Apr 18 – Sep 18 | Mar 19 – Aug 19 | Apr 19 – Sep 19 | YoY Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | |||||||
| Daily Telegraph | 371,734 | 330,188 | 323,959 | -47,775 | -12.9 | -6,229 | -1.9 |
| Financial Times | 180,912 | 169,905 | 168,898 | -12,014 | -6.6 | -1,007 | -0.6 |
| Guardian | 138,150 | 132,301 | 131,529 | -6,621 | -4.8 | -772 | -0.6 |
| i | 246,923 | 229,764 | 228,648 | -18,275 | -7.4 | -1,116 | -0.5 |
| Times | 429,088 | 393,915 | 387,658 | -41,430 | -9.7 | -6,257 | -1.6 |
| Mid Market | |||||||
| Daily Express | 339,235 | 309,329 | 307,130 | -32,105 | -9.5 | -2,199 | -0.7 |
| Daily Mail | 1,268,968 | 1,178,508 | 1,174,576 | -94,392 | -7.4 | -3,932 | -0.3 |
| Popular | |||||||
| Daily Mirror | 558,547 | 491,130 | 486,546 | -72,001 | -12.9 | -4,584 | -0.9 |
| Daily Record | 126,504 | 113,751 | 112,285 | -14,219 | -11.2 | -1,466 | -1.3 |
| Daily Star | 365,021 | 313,687 | 307,864 | -57,157 | -15.7 | -5,823 | -1.9 |
| Sun | 1,451,529 | 1,308,146 | 1,284,996 | -166,533 | -11.5 | -23,150 | -1.8 |
| Total Daily | 5,476,611 | 4,970,624 | 4,914,089 | -562,522 | -10.3 | -56,535 | -1.1 |
| Sunday Titles | Apr 18 – Sep 18 | Mar 19 – Aug 19 | Apr 19 – Sep 19 | YoY Actual Change | YoY % Change | PoP Actual Change | PoP % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | |||||||
| Observer | 167,386 | 159,279 | 158,472 | -8,914 | -5.3 | -807 | -0.5 |
| Sunday Times | 731,909 | 686,102 | 675,667 | -56,242 | -7.7 | -10,435 | -1.5 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 291,812 | 259,599 | 254,822 | -36,990 | -12.7 | -4,777 | -1.8 |
| Mid Market | |||||||
| Sunday Express | 298,567 | 267,955 | 266,146 | -32,421 | -10.9 | -1,809 | -0.7 |
| Mail On Sunday | 1,069,919 | 988,909 | 981,652 | -88,267 | -8.2 | -7,257 | -0.7 |
| Sunday Post | 115,100 | 97,736 | 95,971 | -19,129 | -16.6 | -1,765 | -1.8 |
| Popular | |||||||
| Daily Star Sunday. | 222,511 | 186,254 | 182,842 | -39,669 | -17.8 | -3,412 | -1.8 |
| Sunday People | 184,460 | 152,736 | 151,230 | -33,230 | -18.0 | -1,506 | -1.0 |
| Sun on Sunday | 1,233,958 | 1,092,746 | 1,075,956 | -158,002 | -12.8 | -16,790 | -1.5 |
| Sunday Mail | 131,456 | 115,171 | 113,069 | -18,387 | -14.0 | -2,102 | -1.8 |
| Sunday Mirror | 473,017 | 402,797 | 398,460 | -74,557 | -15.8 | -4,337 | -1.1 |
| Total Sunday | 4,920,095 | 4,409,284 | 4,354,287 | -565,808 | -11.5 | -54,997 | -1.2 |
