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September ABCs: New-look Independent circulation falls

By Paul McNally

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The newly relaunched Independent and Independent on Sunday recorded the steepest circulation declines among the national quality newspapers in September, according to figures released today by ABC.

The Independent, which raised its weekday cover price from 80p to £1 in mid-September ahead of a full-colour redesign by new editor Roger Alton, fell 3.95 per cent month on month and 12.1 per cent year on year to 220,957.

Its Sunday sister title lost 7.2 per cent of its circulation in September, down to 182,511, representing a year-on-year decline of 14.5 per cent.

The Daily Telegraph also unveiled a full-colour redesign in September and rose its price from 80p to 90p on weekdays and from £1.50 to £1.60 on Saturdays. It fell 1 per cent compared with August and 4.5 per cent year on year to post an average daily circulation of 851,254.

Despite increasing its cover price from 70p to 80p at the beginning of September, The Times managed a 4.1 per cent monthly boost in circulation compared with August, but was down 2.5 per cent year on year to 638,033.

The Guardian, which was the only mainstream quality daily not to raise its price last month, posted a 4.9 per cent rise month on month to 348,878 – but was still down 5.1 per cent on the year.

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As the global economic crisis continued to dominate the news agenda, the Financial Times saw a 2.8 per cent circulation boost in September to 429,381 – down 2.7 per cent compared with September 2007.

Mid-market

In the mid-market, the Daily Express’s 10p price advantage over the Daily Mail did not translate into more readers. The Express fell 1.3 per cent month on month and 9.3 per cent year on year to 739,025.

The Daily Mail’s decline was slightly less pronounced – down 0.8 per cent to 2.24m – an annual fall of 5.2 per cent.

Red-tops

The Sun stopped discounting in the south-east and Scotland and dropped its nationwide price to 30p in August. One month later, it was the best performer in the daily red-top market – up 0.7 per cent on the month in September and down 1.8 per cent year on year to an average circulation of 3,154,998.

Its red-top rivals, the Daily Mirror and Daily Star, both fell 9 per cent year on year. The Mirror was down 1 per cent on August to 1.44m and the Star fell 2.7 per cent month on month to 731,433.

The Daily Sport was up 0.7 per cent compared with August to 79,953. A year-on-year comparison is not yet available.

National daily newspaper circulation figures for September
(all percentage falls are year-on-year)

Qualities
Daily Telegraph – 851,254 – down 4.46 per cent
Financial Times – 429,381 – down 2.68 per cent
The Guardian – 348,878 – down 5.08 per cent
The Independent – 220,957 – down 12.13 per cent
The Times – 638,033 – down 2.51 per cent

Mid-market
Daily Express – 739,025 – down 9.31 per cent
Daily Mail – 2,241,788 – down 5.23 per cent

Red-tops
Daily Mirror – 1,440,651 – down 9.09 per cent
Daily Star – 731,433 – down 8.99 per cent
The Sun – 3,154,998 – down 1.83 per cent
Daily Sport – 79,953 – no year-on-year comparison

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