Tabloids see circulations rise while Sundays falter
Tabloid newspapers saw their circulations continue to rise in the latest ABC figures for March, while only the Independent, Daily Telegraph and Financial Times recorded increases elsewhere.
Celebrity stories such as the split of Ashley and Cheryl Cole and Take That star Mark Owen’s infidelity helped boost circulations of the red-tops, with the Daily Star seeing its circulation increase by 2.88% month on month.
However, just like the last published ABCs, only the Daily Star increased its circulation year-on-year.
The Sun posted an average net circulation jump of more than 1.09% to 3,005,308 for March on February but a 1.63% drop for the six months October 2009 to March 2010, compared with the same period a year ago.
The Mirror posted a 0.98% increase for March over February to 1,247,277 and an 8.64% drop for the six month period, year on year.
The Guardian circulation fell 0.51% to 283,063 and is down 14.67% year on year.
The Independent, which was taken over by Alexander Lebedev last month for £1, posted a circulation increase of 0.32% month on month to 184,137, but was down 9.18% year on year.
The Daily Telegraph saw an increase of 0.22% to 686,679 in March and is down 8.37% year on year.
The Times posted a circulation drop of 0.52% to 502,436 and is down 13.75% year on year.
The Financial Times posted a circulation increase of 2.84%, to 401,286 month on month and is down 7.50% year on year.
In the mid-market the Daily Mail saw a fall of 1.37% month on month to 2,082,352 and is down 1.74% for the six year on year.
The Daily Express posted a 0.70% drop to 668,273 month on month and is down 7.34% year on year.
In the Sunday newspaper market, only the Sunday Mail saw its circulation grow month by month, while no newspaper achieved growth year-on-year.
The News of the World’s circulation fell 2.98% month on month to 2,904,566, and was 3.50% down year-on-year.
The Sunday Mirror fell 0.75% to 1,147,272 and is down 7.12% year on year while the Daily Star Sunday fell 1.60% month on month to 341,824 and 0.11% year on year.
The Mail on Sunday celebrated its recent design and editorial overhaul with a 0.39% rise to 399,000 but is down 10.76% year on year. The Sunday Express dropped 0.92% month on month to 570,040 and is down 9.29% year on year.
The Sunday quality market remains moribund with The Observer, which relaunched on 21 February, posting a circulation drop of 3.21% to 331,488 and down 18.77% year on year. The Sunday Telegraph saw a circulation fall of 1.26% to 509,754 and is down 8.23% year on year. The Sunday Times fell 0.94% month on month to 1,111,660 and is down 5.68% year on year.
