ABC National Newspaper Round-Up – September 2002

The latest ABC figures for national newspaper circulation during September show that there was not a great deal of change in the overall circulation of newspapers, which increased by 0.4% month on month to just over 27 million.

One of the most significant increases in percentage terms was experienced by The Sunday Times, which saw circulation rise by 5% during September despite News International’s decision to raise the title’s coverprice by 20p to £1.40. The Business and The Guardian also experienced notable month and month increases, with the former seeing circulation improve by 5.4% and the latter recording a rise of 4.9%.

The Mail On Sunday experienced one of the largest increases in actual terms with its circulation improving by 46,033 during September to 2,398,438. Last month the title’s owner, Daily Mail & General Trust, announced that national press display advertising in the UK is “volatile and unpredictable”.

At the other end of the scale, the Racing Post suffered the greatest month on month drop in percentage terms, with circulation decreasing by 6.3% to just under 80,000. Trinity Mirror’s recently relaunched People also faltered during September, with circulation slipping by 3%. The Sunday Mirror experienced one of the most significant losses in actual terms, with circulation declining by 31,372 to just over 1.8 million.

Quality Market

Overall the size of the quality market dipped by 1.2% year on year during September with the majority of titles seeing circulation fall. The Independent On Sunday and the Sunday Telegraph experienced the most notable declines, with the former seeing circulation slip by 5.7% and the latter following suit with a 4.1% month on month loss.

Only two quality titles saw circulation rise during September. The Business reported a year on year increase of 48.1% to 83,684 and the Sunday Times saw circulation improve by 1.3% to 1,393,473.

Mid-Market

The Express titles fared well in the mid-market during September, with the Sunday Express seeing circualtion improve by 4.8% year on year and its daily stable-mate recording a 0.7% increase. The Daily Mail and the Mail On Sunday both saw circulation decline, the former by 1.4% and the latter by 0.6%.

Popular Market

The after-effects of the Daily Mirror‘s price war with the Sun continued to weigh on the Trinity Mirror-owned title, with circulation dropping by 4.7% year on year to 2,117,464. In comparison, the Sun continued to see circulation increase with a 1.7% improvement recorded during September.

Elsewhere in the popular market Sport First experienced the most significant decline in percentage terms, with circulation slipping by 37% year on year to below the 50,000 mark. The popularity of Richard Desmond’s Daily Star continued to increase during September and the title recorded a 15.2% increase in circulation.

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