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January 23, 2017

Print ABCs: Seven UK national newspapers losing print sales at more than 10 per cent year on year

By Dominic Ponsford

Seven UK national newspapers are currently losing sales at a rate of more than ten per cent year on year, according to the latest ABC figures for December.

The UK’s top selling daily, The Sun, fell 10.5 per cent year on year to an average of 1,611,464 copies per day. It has added an extra 34,000 free bulk copies year on year, meaning the paid-for sale declined by 12.6 per cent when these are taken out of the equation.

The other big fallers were: the Sunday Mirror (down 16.3 per cent), the Daily Mirror (down 11.68 per cent), Sunday People (down 15.1 per cent), Daily Star Sunday (down 13.2 per cent), Sunday Mail (down 12.7 per cent) and the Sunday Post (down 13.5 per cent).

The only titles to grow print sales year on year were The Sunday Times and The Times, helped by increased free bulk copies (often distributed at hotels and airports).

When bulks are taken out of the equation, actively-purchased sales of The Sunday Times fell 3 per cent year on year. Without bulks sales of The Times were flat year on year – making it the best-performing print title.

Title  Dec 16  MoM% YoY% Bulks
The Sun    1,611,464 -2.34 -10.5    95,360
Daily Mail    1,491,264 0.62 -6.7    66,283
Metro (free)    1,475,543 -0.36 9.67
The Sun on Sunday    1,383,048 -1.69 -5.83    94,394
The Mail on Sunday    1,284,121 -0.57 -7.34    64,249
Evening Standard (free)       847,936 -5.8 -1.07
The Sunday Times       792,210 -0.71 3.84    80,921
Daily Mirror       716,923 -2.27 -11.68    34,000
Sunday Mirror       620,861 -2.38 -16.28    34,000
The Daily Telegraph       460,054 1.01 -3.44    22,618
The Times       446,164 0.79 9.18    76,919
Daily Star       440,471 -2.64 -2.49
Daily Express       391,626 -1.02 -2.27
The Sunday Telegraph       359,287 -1.29 2.31    25,561
Sunday Express       335,271 -2.85 -5.63
i       264,067 -1.81 -1.63    57,977
Daily Star – Sunday       257,790 -2.41 -13.22
Sunday People       239,364 -3.59 -15.09      7,000
Financial Times       193,211 0.74 -7.67    21,654
The Observer       182,140 -4.29 -0.83
Sunday Mail       172,513 -0.34 -12.68      3,806
The Guardian       161,091 1.26 -2.98
Daily Record       160,557 -0.54 -9.7      4,923
Sunday Post       142,863 -1.38 -13.5
City AM (free)          90,911 -0.49 -7.93

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