By Peter Lavelle
Tuesday 16 February 11:30 GMT
UK quality dailies including The Guardian and The Times have experienced double digit declines in sales figures, according to new figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
The Audit Bureau, which tracks sales figures for newspapers and magazines worldwide, noted that The Times encountered the biggest year-on-year plummet among UK newspapers – dropping 17.69% in January to 508, 250 copies.
The Guardian, meanwhile, experienced a 15.76% decline in circulation, though keeping above 300,000. Month-on-month The Guardian circulation increased in fact in January by 0.58%.
The Daily Telegraph reported a 11.76% drop in circulation rates, putting the newspaper’s sales below 700,000 for the first time.
This plummet in part reflects the paper’s decision to abandon bulk distribution – a mechanism by which restaurants etc. receive multiple copies for a nominal fee, then distribute these freely.
Only three newspapers – The Independent, The Daily Mail, and The Financial Times – now employ this circulation-bolstering tactic.
Newspaper sales at the lower end fared slightly better. The Sun raised its circulation back above 3 million copies, thanks to a month-on-month January increase of 5.02%. The paper though declined 4.43% year-on-year.
Of the tabloids, only The Star managed a year-on-year increase – at 1.41%. This reflects owner Richard Desmond’s decision to drop the paper’s price to 20p back in November 2008.
The Audit Bureau had some good news for print editions, however. Though the first half of 2009 saw circulations fall 1.8% for the UK’s 100 top-selling magazines, sales were flat during the second half. This suggest the print industry is weathering the recession.
Meanwhile, Political satire Private Eye enjoyed its highest circulation since 1992 in 2008’s second half - selling 210,218 copies. Editor Iain Hislip told The Times: “The Eye’s circulation figures are like John Terry’s shorts. In the past they may have gone down - but now they are firmly up again.”
Sources
Alexi Monstrous, ‘Private Eye Records Best Circulation In Eighteen Years,’ TimesOnline.co.uk 11 February 2010.
Chris Tryhorn, ‘ABCS: Daily Telegraph Slides Below 700,000 Sales,’ Guardian.co.uk, 12 February 2010.
Ewingsc, ‘Shock! Horror! Newspaper Readership Results,’ Uncensored.co.nz, 15 February 2010.
Anonymous, ‘ABC: Sun Back Over 3 Million But Star Is Only Climber,’ PressGazette.co.uk, 12 February.
Tuesday 16 February 11:30 GMT
UK quality dailies including The Guardian and The Times have experienced double digit declines in sales figures, according to new figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
The Audit Bureau, which tracks sales figures for newspapers and magazines worldwide, noted that The Times encountered the biggest year-on-year plummet among UK newspapers – dropping 17.69% in January to 508, 250 copies.
The Guardian, meanwhile, experienced a 15.76% decline in circulation, though keeping above 300,000. Month-on-month The Guardian circulation increased in fact in January by 0.58%.
The Daily Telegraph reported a 11.76% drop in circulation rates, putting the newspaper’s sales below 700,000 for the first time.
This plummet in part reflects the paper’s decision to abandon bulk distribution – a mechanism by which restaurants etc. receive multiple copies for a nominal fee, then distribute these freely.
Only three newspapers – The Independent, The Daily Mail, and The Financial Times – now employ this circulation-bolstering tactic.
Newspaper sales at the lower end fared slightly better. The Sun raised its circulation back above 3 million copies, thanks to a month-on-month January increase of 5.02%. The paper though declined 4.43% year-on-year.
Of the tabloids, only The Star managed a year-on-year increase – at 1.41%. This reflects owner Richard Desmond’s decision to drop the paper’s price to 20p back in November 2008.
The Audit Bureau had some good news for print editions, however. Though the first half of 2009 saw circulations fall 1.8% for the UK’s 100 top-selling magazines, sales were flat during the second half. This suggest the print industry is weathering the recession.
Meanwhile, Political satire Private Eye enjoyed its highest circulation since 1992 in 2008’s second half - selling 210,218 copies. Editor Iain Hislip told The Times: “The Eye’s circulation figures are like John Terry’s shorts. In the past they may have gone down - but now they are firmly up again.”
Sources
Alexi Monstrous, ‘Private Eye Records Best Circulation In Eighteen Years,’ TimesOnline.co.uk 11 February 2010.
Chris Tryhorn, ‘ABCS: Daily Telegraph Slides Below 700,000 Sales,’ Guardian.co.uk, 12 February 2010.
Ewingsc, ‘Shock! Horror! Newspaper Readership Results,’ Uncensored.co.nz, 15 February 2010.
Anonymous, ‘ABC: Sun Back Over 3 Million But Star Is Only Climber,’ PressGazette.co.uk, 12 February.
0 comments:
Post a Comment