Northern & Shell newspapers in strong position to support C5

The Daily Express and Daily Star, owned by new boss of Channel 5 Richard Desmond, both saw a circulation jump in August, according to ABC figures.

With Desmond’s Northern & Shell company now in control of Channel 5 the circulation of its newspapers now assumes a new importance, as they can act as promotional vehicles for the channel.

The Daily Express saw average net circulation jump 1.14% in August month on month to 671,414, although the title is down 8.6% for the six months March to August, year on year. The Daily Star’s circulation, still benefitting from its price cut, rose 2.23% to 862,005.

Overall, the final month of the summer holidays saw average newspaper circulation at its traditional seasonal low with only the mid-market titles holding up.

Rival to the Daily Express, the Daily Mail, managed a 2.45% jump to 2,169,690 while the Mail on Sunday, benefitting from a television campaign supporting its You supplement, climbed 0.53% to 1,964,945.

In total, the tabloids saw a 0.29% drop in circulation month on month and 3.36% for the six month period March to August, year on year. The Sun, which has just launched its own perfume brand called Buzz, fell 1.07% month on month to 3,009,987 and the Daily Mirror dropped.0.96% to 1,232,961.

The Sunday tabloids saw an overall drop of 0.36% month on month but were down 6.3% year on year. The News of the World, currently embroiled in the phone hacking scandal and attendant investigation, fell 0.75% to 2,868,850.

Quality titles were down 0.76% month on month with an overall drop of 12.15% year on year, although the comparative is skewed by the amount of bulks stripped out by some newspapers. The Guardian’s circulation fell 1.85% on July to 272,112 and The Times, whose online content is now behind a pay wall, dropped 1.67% to 494,205. The Independent, now owned by Alexander Lebedev, dropped 0.85 in August to 182,416 and The Daily telegraph fell 0.79% to 673,010.

The Financial Times, which has just introduced a measurement system for all its paid-for content, dropped 0.51% to 376,564.

The Sunday quality titles actually saw a total rise month on month of 0.36% with The Sunday Telegraph and The Independent on Sunday seeing slight increases. The Observer saw the biggest dip, down 1.76% on July to 309,068 but down 19.58% year on year.

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