ABC National Newspaper Round-Up December 2002
The latest ABC figures for national newspaper circulation reveal a relatively disappointing period for the sector, which saw circulation decline by 3.8% during December.
Financial titles, The Business and the Financial Times, were among only a handful of national newspapers to see circulation increase during December. The former improved by 4.1% month on month to 94,381 and the latter, which is understood to be on the brink of an extensive redesign (see Financial Times Set For New Year Relaunch), saw circulation rise by 4.8% to 473,588.
Richard Desmond’s Daily Star saw the most significant increase in percentage terms, with an 11.3% month on month improvement in circulation during December. However, this good fortune did not extend to the paper’s recently launched Sunday sibling, which despite a strong entrance to the market last September, saw circulation slip by 11.2% to 444,020.
Elsewhere, the Daily Mirror saw circulation decline by 5.4% to 2,031,596 counteracting increased sales seen during November. The Sun also suffered, recording a 2.7% decrease in circulation to 3,447,300.
The Observer and The Times experienced some of the most notable declines during December. The former faltered by 8.9%, bringing its circulation to 445,852 and the latter slipped by 7.5% month on month to 1,334,060.
| National Newspaper December 2002 ABC Monthly Comparisons | ||||
| Title | Nov 2002 | Dec 2002 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Business, The | 90,705 | 94,381 | 3,676 | 4.1 |
| Daily Express | 988,136 | 967,020 | -21,116 | -2.1 |
| Daily Mail | 2,420,301 | 2,401,393 | -18,908 | -0.8 |
| Daily Mirror | 2,148,058 | 2,031,596 | -116,462 | -5.4 |
| Daily Record | 532,756 | 525,148 | -7,608 | -1.4 |
| Daily Star | 736,186 | 819,232 | 83,046 | 11.3 |
| Daily Star Sunday | 499,912 | 444,020 | -55,892 | -11.2 |
| Daily Telegraph | 965,208 | 943,635 | -21,573 | -2.2 |
| Financial Times | 451,790 | 473,588 | 21,798 | 4.8 |
| Guardian | 404,801 | 394,277 | -10,524 | -2.6 |
| Independent | 221,597 | 218,710 | -2,887 | -1.3 |
| Independent On Sunday | 219,095 | 215,334 | -3,761 | -1.7 |
| Mail On Sunday | 2,400,007 | 2,299,823 | -100,184 | -4.2 |
| News Of The World | 3,979,216 | 3,776,216 | -203,000 | -5.1 |
| Observer | 489,353 | 445,852 | -43,501 | -8.9 |
| People | 1,170,528 | 1,117,059 | -53,469 | -4.6 |
| Racing Post | 78,209 | 79,668 | 1,459 | 1.9 |
| Sport First (Sunday) | 38,588 | 34,564 | -4,024 | -10.4 |
| Sun | 3,541,198 | 3,447,300 | -93,898 | -2.7 |
| Sunday Express | 989,668 | 906,781 | -82,887 | -8.4 |
| Sunday Mirror | 1,701,469 | 1,575,043 | -126,426 | -7.4 |
| Sunday Sport | 187,767 | 177,663 | -10,104 | -5.4 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 781,416 | 746,968 | -34,448 | -4.4 |
| Sunday Times | 1,442,519 | 1,334,060 | -108,459 | -7.5 |
| Times | 688,480 | 678,508 | -9,972 | -1.4 |
| Total | 27,166,963 | 26,147,839 | -1,019,124 | -3.8 |
Quality Market
The prospect of Christmas bought little cheer to the quality market, which saw circulation dip by 2.5% during the six months toDecember.
The Independent On Sunday and The Times led the downward movement, with the former recording a 6.0% year on year drop in circulation and the latter slipping by 4.9% to 684,872. The Observer and the Sunday Times escaped relatively unscathed, declining by 0.2% and 0.3% respectively in the six months to December 2002.
The Business was the only quality title to see circulation increase year on year, with a significant 53.6% improvement during the month.
| Quality Market Jul 02 – Dec 02 ABC YoY Comparisons | ||||
| Title | Jul 01 – Dec 01 | Jul 02 – Dec 02 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Business, The | 57,335 | 88,049 | 30,714 | 53.6 |
| Daily Telegraph | 1,020,889 | 981,084 | -39,805 | -3.9 |
| Financial Times | 478,535 | 453,617 | -24,918 | -5.2 |
| Guardian | 407,847 | 398,414 | -9,433 | -2.3 |
| Independent | 230,633 | 223,090 | -7,543 | -3.3 |
| Independent On Sunday | 239,025 | 224,653 | -14,372 | -6.0 |
| Observer | 463,037 | 461,923 | -1,114 | -0.2 |
| Sunday Telegraph | 812,077 | 774,785 | -37,292 | -4.6 |
| Sunday Times | 1,384,233 | 1,380,195 | -4,038 | -0.3 |
| Times | 719,861 | 684,872 | -34,989 | -4.9 |
| Total | 5,813,472 | 5,670,682 | -142,790 | -2.5 |
Mid-Market
Things remained relatively unchanged in the mid-market during the six months to December, with the Daily and Sunday Express seeing circulation increase, whilst the Daily Mail and the Mail On Sunday saw circulation decline. The Daily Mail & General Trust-owned titles continued to enjoy significantly higher circualtions than the Richard Desmond-owned titles.
| Mid Market Jul 02 – Dec 02 ABC YoY Comparisons | ||||
| Title | Jul 01 – Dec 01 | Jul 02 – Dec 02 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Daily Express | 957,574 | 994,710 | 37,136 | 3.9 |
| Daily Mail | 2,476,625 | 2,433,660 | -42,965 | -1.7 |
| Mail On Sunday | 2,381,142 | 2,375,103 | -6,039 | -0.3 |
| Sunday Express | 863,779 | 979,502 | 115,723 | 13.4 |
| Total | 6,679,120 | 6,782,975 | 103,855 | 1.6 |
Popular Market
Year on year analysis of the popular market reveals an impressive period for the Daily Star, which saw circulation increase by a notable 36.3% in the six months to December. The Sun also performed well, recording a 4.1% rise during the same period to 3,615,397.
The recently launched Daily Star Sunday appears to be making in-roads against its competitors. The People and the Sunday Sport saw circulation decline by 9.9% and 6.9% respectively during the six months to December. However, Sport First experienced the sector’s most significant decline in percentage terms, with circulation falling by 51.0% year on year to 41,867.
| Popular Market Jul 02- Dec 02 ABC YoY Comparisons | ||||
| Title | Jul 01 – Dec 01 | Jul 02 – Dec 02 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Daily Mirror | 2,187,960 | 2,104,251 | -83,709 | -3.8 |
| Daily Record | 597,419 | 538,439 | -58,980 | -9.9 |
| Daily Star | 620,420 | 845,662 | 225,242 | 36.3 |
| Daily Star Sunday | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| News Of The World | 4,030,283 | 3,962,383 | -67,900 | -1.7 |
| People | 1,382,366 | 1,245,385 | -136,981 | -9.9 |
| Racing Post | 77,283 | 80,432 | 3,149 | 4.1 |
| Sport First | 85,448 | 41,867 | -43,581 | -51.0 |
| Sun | 3,472,841 | 3,615,397 | 142,556 | 4.1 |
| Sunday Mirror | 1,836,413 | 1,732,425 | -103,988 | -5.7 |
| Sunday Sport | 202,938 | 188,954 | -13,984 | -6.9 |
| Total | 14,522,386 | 14,218,112 | -304,274 | -2.1 |
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