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November 11, 2005updated 22 Nov 2022 5:28pm

October: Times powers on but has The Guardian peaked too soon?

By Press Gazette

By Dominic Ponsford

All
eyes are still on The Guardian following its 12 September relaunch in
Berliner format and the ABC figures for October suggest sales have
already peaked following that change.

In October, the first full
month as a Berliner and the first national in full colour, the Guardian
sold an average of 403,297: a healthy 6.57 per cent up year-on-year,
but 0.22 per cent down on the month before.

Considering the
Berliner re-launch was accompanied by the biggest marketing campaign in
the paper’s history – management at Guardian newspapers might have
hoped for a bigger boost in October.

The figure keeps the Guardian back above its historic circulation benchmark of 400,000 which it slipped below in March 2003.

The
Times achieved even bigger year-on-year growth than The Guardian even
though it is now two years since it brought out a tabloid version.

It
broke through the 700,000 barrier with a year-on-year sales boost of
7.16 per cent giving the paper its biggest sale since June 2002.

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There
is also cause for celebration at The Independent where sales for
October grew to a new peak for its tabloid era, up 0.38 per cent
year-on-year to 267,037.

Overall, the quality newspaper market
grew by 1.53 per cent compared to a 5.07 per cent drop year-on-year for
the mid-market daily titles and a 3.43 per cent drop for the redtop
dailies.

The Independent on Sunday was another paper to feel the
benefits of a format change. It relaunched as a tabloid on October 16,
half way through the audit period, and enjoyed year-on-year growth of
7.34 per cent to 230,053.

 

UK national newspapers circulation for October 2005
Current month Last Month mth/mth Last Year Yr/Yr
Oct 05 Sep 05 +/- % Oct 04 +/- %
National morning popular
Daily Mirror 1,684,660 1,741,740 -3.28 1,770,407 -4.84
Daily Record 454,247 462,814 -1.85 475,608 -4.49
Daily Star 820,028 854,184 -4.00 878,934 -6.70
The Sun 3,224,427 3,300,208 -2.30 3,278,068 -1.64
Total of average daily net
circulation
6,183,362 6,358,946 -2.76 6,403,017 -3.43
National morning mid market
Daily Express 810,827 831,373 -2.47 915,324 -11.42
The Daily Mail 2,350,694 2,373,756 -0.97 2,415,032 -2.66
Total of average daily net
circulation
3,161,521 3,205,129 -1.36 3,330,356 -5.07
National morning quality
The Daily Telegraph 901,667 904,283 -0.29 904,366 -0.30
Financial Times 419,249 438,538 -4.40 438,808 -4.46
The Herald 75,541 77,125 -2.05 78,910 -4.27
The Guardian 403,297 404,187 -0.22 378,426 6.57
The Independent 267,037 262,552 1.71 266,038 0.38
The Scotsman 65,194 67,027 -2.73 69,626 -6.37
The Times 703,492 699,425 0.58 656,462 7.16
Total of average daily net
circulation
2,835,477 2,853,137 -0.62 2,792,636 1.53
Overall total of average daily net
circulation
12,180,360 12,417,212 -1.91 12,526,009 -2.76
National morning sporting
Racing Post 74,552 75,615 -1.41 75,702 -1.52
London evening
Evening Standard 329,247 327,720 0.47 381,186 -13.63
National morning group
The Daily Mirror / Daily Record 2,138,907 2,204,554 -2.98 2,246,015 -4.77
National Sunday popular
Daily Star Sunday 404,723 410,595 -1.43 470,276 -13.94
News of the World 3,773,705 3,769,636 0.11 3,770,620 0.08
Sunday Mail 549,129 553,804 -0.84 592,309 -7.29
Sunday Mirror 1,457,792 1,533,008 -4.91 1,637,847 -10.99
The People 905,494 914,734 -1.01 1,005,177 -9.92
Sunday Sport 148,385 151,252 -1.90 153,434 -3.29
Total of average Sunday net
circulation
7,239,228 7,333,029 -1.28 7,629,663 -5.12
National Sunday mid market
Sunday Express 829,064 859,275 -3.52 967,574 -14.32
The Mail on Sunday 2,292,258 2,344,834 -2.24 2,437,748 -5.97
Total of average Sunday net
circulation
3,121,322 3,204,109 -2.58 3,405,322 -8.34
National Sunday quality
Independent on Sunday 230,053 203,110 13.27 214,323 7.34
The Business 178,528 184,290 -3.13 214,962 -16.95
The Observer 451,781 438,365 3.06 453,018 -0.27
Scotland on Sunday 84,192 82,837 1.64 83,500 0.83
Sunday Herald 58,140 58,528 -0.66 55,518 4.72
The Sunday Telegraph 661,425 689,213 -4.03 688,758 -3.97
The Sunday Times 1,404,616 1,375,972 2.08 1,360,529 3.24
Total of average Sunday net
circulation
3,068,735 3,032,315 1.20 3,070,608 -0.06
Overall total of average Sunday net
circulation
13,429,285 13,569,453 -1.03 14,105,593 -4.79

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