12 Jan 2004 |

NRS National Newspaper Round-Up – November 2003

The Independent‘s decision to launch a tabloid-sized trial version for commuters may have boosted circulation at the title, but it has so far failed to have any positive effect on readership (see Independent Reveals Details Of Tabloid Launch).

The latest NRS national newspaper figures show the title suffered a 12.6% year on year decline in readership, which struggled to remain above the crucial 500,000 mark in the six months to November 2003.

However, the Independent appears to have sparked something of a revolution in the broadsheet sector. News International has already followed its lead with the launch of the compact Times and a number of other quality titles are understood to be poised to launch their own commuter friendly editions (see Times Extends Availability Of Compact Edition).

November’s figures also reveal a less than impressive period for the Guardian, which saw its readership slip by 12.6% to 1,147,000. However, the Financial Times continued to bear the brunt of the downturn, shedding almost a third of its readership in year on year analysis.

Meanwhile, News International’s Sun proved something of a red-top flop in the tabloid sector, with readership dipping by 10.9% year on year to 8,739,000 as Rebekah Wade celebrates her first year as editor of the title. This was overshadowed by a 14.3% decline for the Daily Mirror, which saw its readership drop below the 5 million mark.

The tabloid sector’s most significant decline in percentage terms was experienced by Trinity Mirror’s People, which dipped by 15.7% to 2,403,000 in the six months to November. However, the title is hoping to improve its fortunes with the launch of a new weekly magazine called Take It Easy (see Trinity Mirror Takes It Easy With New Weekly Magazine).

Elsewhere, Richard Desmond’s Daily Express saw readership fall by 8.9% year on year to 2,040,000. The title has recently been at the centre of controversy over a contentious column written by BBC talk show host Robert Kilroy-Silk.

The Daily Mail proved unable to escape the downturn affecting the rest of the sector with a 1.2% decline in readers in the six months to November. However, its Sunday sibling was one of the only titles to experience any upward movement with a 1.6% year on year increase to 6,042,000. The Sunday Express also improved by 4.6% to 2,314,000 during the same period.

National Newspaper NRS Figures – November 2003
Title	Jun-Nov 02	Jun-Nov 03	Actual Change	% Change
Daily Express	2,239,000	2,040,000	-199,000	-8.9
Daily Mail	5,848,000	5,776,000	-72,000	-1.2
Daily Mirror	5,287,000	4,529,000	-758,000	-14.3
Daily Record	1,468,000	1,419,000	-49,000	-3.3
Daily Star	1,719,000	1,617,000	-102,000	-5.9
Daily Star Sunday	n/a	1,110,000	n/a	n/a
Daily Telegraph	2,284,000	2,111,000	-173,000	-7.6
Financial Times	579,000	388,000	-191,000	-33.0
Guardian	1,313,000	1,147,000	-166,000	-12.6
Independent	581,000	508,000	-73,000	-12.6
Independent On Sunday	640,000	676,000	36,000	5.6
Mail On Sunday	5,945,000	6,042,000	97,000	1.6
News Of The World	9,907,000	9,445,000	-462,000	-4.7
Observer	1,258,000	1,228,000	-30,000	-2.4
People	2,850,000	2,403,000	-447,000	-15.7
Sun	9,809,000	8,739,000	-1,070,000	-10.9
Sunday Express	2,212,000	2,314,000	102,000	4.6
Sunday Mirror	5,299,000	4,883,000	-416,000	-7.9
Sunday Telegraph	2,021,000	1,974,000	-47,000	-2.3
Sunday Times	3,517,000	3,291,000	-226,000	-6.4
Times	1,794,000	1,678,000	-116,000	-6.5
Total	66,570,000	63,318,000	-3,252,000	-4.9