Paper sales are flagging

Grocer, Jan 20, 2001

Latest ABC circulation figures for national newspapers show the decline in sales continued throughout December, with the exception of three bright spots.

An increase of 4.4% was shown by The Mail on Sunday, 1.3% by the Daily Mail, and 1.5% by The Times on their November sales. The Mirror was down 2.7%, (64,621 copies), the biggest drop among national morning popular titles. In the mid-market sales of the Express fell by 3.2% (33,470 copies), while The Mail saw a rise of 31,657.

The only significant increase in the national morning quality sector came from The Times, up 1.5% month. The Scotsman and The Independent recorded substantial losses in this sector, down by 7.4% and 7.3% respectively. The downward spiral continued in the Sunday market with the exception of The Mail on Sunday.

DAILY CIRCULATION FOR DECEMBER

                       Mth/Mth     /-%

The Mirror            2,111,026   -2.97
Daily Record            599,323   -0.42
Daily Star              538,461    0.26
The Sun               3,439,835   -1.95
Daily Express         1,000,388   -3.24
The Daily Mail        2,377,756    1.39
The Daily Telegraph    1,016.17    0.21
Financial Times         485,102    0.36
The Guardian            397,190   -2.80
The Independent         223,133   -7.30
The Scotsman             92,638   -7.43
The Times               723,428    1.52

Source: Audit Bureau Circulation