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May 19, 2016updated 25 May 2016 9:19am

National newspaper ABCs: i, Times and Telegraph titles all gain print sales after Independent closure

By Dominic Ponsford

The  i appears to have picked up the biggest slice of The Independent’s print circulation.

April was the last full month without The Independent, which had an average daily print sale of just under 40,000.

The latest circulation figures from ABC show that the i, The Times and the Daily Telegraph all boosted their distribution of free bulk copies in April (possibly trying to target former Independent buyers). When these extra bulk copies are taken out of the equation, the increases in paid-for sales month on month were as follows:

  • i: Up 12,094
  • Daily Telegraph: Up 6,212
  • The Times: Up 5,235
  • The Guardian: Up 4,612.

The Times and Telegraph both increased their free distribution by just under 11,000 last month while the i gave way just over another 2,000 free copies. The Guardian has no bulk sales.

When the Independent on Sunday closed it had an average weekly sale of around 45,000 copies. Last month The Sunday Times boosted its free bulk distribution by around 17,000 and the Sunday Telegraph boosted its by around 14,000. When these extra bulks are taken out the equation, the biggest winners month on month were as follows:

  • The Sunday Telegraph: Up 11,372
  • The Observer: Up 9,471
  • The Sunday Times: Up 9,401.

Elsewhere in the market, the cut-price 20p Daily Star continues to take sales mainly from the Daily Mirror – it grew 22 per cent year on year to 513,233, while the Daily Mirror fell 11 per cent year on year to 785,717.

Other than the Star, The Times was the best performing print title – growing its circulation by 10.9 per cent year on year (albeit with the help of more free bulk copies).

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National newspaper ABC print circulation figures for April 2016 (source: ABC)

Title 16-Apr MoM% YoY% Multiple Sales
The Sun 1,716,361 -1.31 -7.61 77,903
Daily Mail 1,545,473 -1.94 -5.25 74,463
The Sun on Sunday 1,413,493 -0.35 -4.1 81,509
The Mail on Sunday 1,374,864 0.41 -5 68,110
Metro (free) 1,347,594 0.09 0.17
London Evening Standard (free) 900,175 0.95 0.37
The Sunday Times 797,280 3.39 -1.41 63,485
Daily Mirror 785,717 0.2 -10.87 45,000
Sunday Mirror 709,495 -0.82 -14.83 45,000
Daily Star 513,233 5.68 22.2
The Daily Telegraph 498,474 3.52 2.56 19,532
The Times 436,692 3.83 10.88 66,937
Daily Express 419,328 1.04 -4.17
The Sunday Telegraph 370,579 3.04 -0.07 23,817
Sunday Express 365,071 -0.19 -5.27
Daily Star – Sunday 316,224 6.03 24.38
i 284,434 5.27 3.08 69,409
Sunday People 272,019 -1.81 -15.94 7,000
Financial Times 195,913 -3.41 -7.8 21,445
The Observer 194,054 5.32 -1.2
Sunday Mail 186,931 -0.35 -13.37 3,810
Daily Record 173,078 0.01 -12.08 4,968
The Guardian 169,424 2.91 -3.82
Sunday Post 158,156 -2.07 -13.29
City AM (free) 96,489 0.15 -11.23

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