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  1. Data
  2. Audience Data
January 11, 2013

UK national newspaper sales: Guardian, FT and Daily Telegraph end 2012 on high note

By Dominic Ponsford

The Guardian, FT and Daily Telegraph all ended 2012 on a high note, with small month-on-month circulation increases.

But sales of every other national newspaper were down year on year.

Sales of the UK’s top-selling daily The Sun fell by 10 per cent year on year as it competed with cut-price sales from the previous year, while the Daily Mirror kept its rate of decline to half that figure.

Most of the biggest year on year falls in the Sunday market were due to the distorting effect of the closure of the News of the World in July 2011.

Looking at the sales averages for 2012 as a whole, the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror were among the best-performing titles in relative terms, keeping their print sales declines to 6 per cent and 6.6 per cent respectively.

UK national newspaper sales for December 2012 (source ABC)

National dailies

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Ave sale

Month/Month

Year/year

bulks

Daily Mirror

   1,034,641

-0.99

-5.27

                 –

Daily Record

     250,096

-1.39

-8.89

          1,822

Daily Star

     540,548

-3.47

-12.32

                 –

The Sun

  2,277,809

-3.55

-10.00

                 –

Daily Express

     529,096

-1.52

-11.29

                 –

Daily Mail

   1,844,569

-1.44

-7.54

        91,361

The Daily Telegraph

     547,465

0.19

-6.74

                 –

Financial Times

      286,401

1.60

-14.19

        29,815

The Guardian

     204,222

0.31

-11.25

                 –

i

       291,311

-3.66

31.39

       65,239

The Independent

       78,082

-1.25

-34.69

        18,371

The Scotsman

       32,463

-0.83

-16.00

         2,368

The Times

      396,041

-0.82

-3.18

        17,100

Racing Post

       45,372

-1.70

-9.34

              63

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Sundays

 

 

 

 

Daily Star Sunday

     360,747

-2.04

-43.67

                 –

The Sun (Sunday)

   1,886,739

-6.10

 

                 –

Sunday Mail

     285,028

-2.69

-21.96

            684

Sunday Mirror

   1,024,543

-1.15

-39.80

                 –

Sunday People

     428,406

-3.86

-45.09

                 –

Sunday Express

     473,336

-1.60

-24.49

                 –

Sunday Post

     245,727

-0.37

-18.59

                 –

The Mail on Sunday

   1,687,301

-2.60

-11.62

       79,054

Independent on Sunday

       116,513

-1.58

-9.25

        55,216

The Observer

     230,833

-2.26

-13.44

                 –

Scotland on Sunday

       37,252

-5.44

-18.40

                 –

The Sunday Telegraph

     428,092

-0.98

-5.47

                 –

The Sunday Times

     877,482

-1.96

-6.20

         9,258

 

UK national newspapers: Average sale for 2012

 

National dailies

 2012 average

 2011 average

% change

Daily Mirror

   1,077,683

           1,153,776

-6.60

Daily Record

     273,688

              301,501

-9.22

Daily Star

      596,108

             688,719

-13.45

The Sun

    2,519,911

         2,770,405

-9.04

Daily Express

      561,273

             621,075

-9.63

Daily Mail

   1,920,801

         2,044,347

-6.04

The Daily Telegraph

      570,817

            620,946

-8.07

Financial Times

     298,070

            354,926

-16.02

The Herald

       45,493

               48,569

-6.33

The Guardian

      210,660

            248,958

-15.38

i

     279,309

             183,978

51.82

The Independent

       90,258

              167,271

-46.04

The Scotsman

       35,330

               40,536

-12.84

The Times

     400,238

            436,729

-8.36

Racing Post

        49,091

               53,236

-7.78

 

 

 

 

National Sundays

 

 

 

Daily Star Sunday

     460,720

             495,184

-6.96

The Sun (Sunday)

   2,167,218

 N/A

 

Sunday Mail

      319,393

            379,454

-15.83

Sunday Mirror

   1,173,269

          1,436,403

-18.32

Sunday People

     499,048

             649,671

-23.18

Sunday Express

      513,305

            606,000

-15.30

Sunday Post

     272,245

              314,152

-13.34

The Mail on Sunday

   1,798,205

           1,981,357

-9.24

Independent on Sunday

      121,794

              150,105

-18.86

The Observer

     245,430

            285,757

-14.11

Scotland on Sunday

       43,635

                 51,971

-16.04

Sunday Herald

       28,735

                31,568

-8.97

The Sunday Telegraph

     449,882

            483,490

-6.95

The Sunday Times

      918,563

           1,005,017

-8.60

 

 

 

 

 

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