ABC declines return for national newspapers

Format changes for national newspapers gave a short-term boost to the market, but have failed to increase sales over the long term, with the entire quality sector returning to the days of steady falls in circulation.

Edinburgh-based The Scotsman, which moved to a tabloid format in 2005, suffered the sharpest percentage decline, with a 6.63% drop in circulation year-on-year to 54,673, according to the July report from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC).

The Times and The Independent, which moved to tabloid in 2002 and 2003, respectively, also lost circulation. The Times had circulation of 635,653, a year-on-year drop of 4.77%, while The Independent shed 4.25% of its copy sales to 240,116.

The Guardian, which moved to the mid-size Berliner format in 2005, had an average daily circulation of 362,309, which was 2.24% lower than a year ago.

Only the two broadsheets held relatively steady. The Financial Times gained 0.69% year-on-year to 426,451, while The Daily Telegraph lost 0.91% to 889,289.

Dan Pimm, head of press at media agency Universal McCann, told printweek.com that innovation and give-aways, such as the Mail on Sunday CDs, gave a temporary uplift because people wanted to try the products, but the backdrop was overwhelming social change.

"The battle newspapers have on their hands is not to increase circulation, but just to keep a steady circulation," Pimm said.

"The problem is younger readers, but it's not just because of online – 10 years ago you bought a newspaper or a book for the commute, but now you've got the newspaper, the book, the iPod, the PSP games device, the free newspapers like the Metro and the Palm Pilot or BlackBerry."

The report was no kinder to the mid-market titles or red tops.

The Daily Mirror dropped 6.04% year on year to 1,559,873, while The Sun dropped 2.45% to 3,128,829.

The Daily Mail held steady with a 0.46% gain to 2,400,143, while the Daily Express dropped 4.67% to 794,252.

In the Sunday market, The Sunday Times, which raised its cover price to £2 in September last year, lost a massive 10.67% – nearly 140,000 copies – year-on-year.

However, it's not all bad news for the print industry, according to Pimm.

"If you think about all the supplements and freesheets, I would have thought more print [is being produced] than ever been before, especially at this time with nearly a million free copies in the evening in London," Pimm said.

"There is a worry people will start to react against the amount of paper wastage and there is a phenomenal amount of paper being wasted, especially on weekends and in the evenings."

He noted that The Independent, with its environmentally aware readership, had tried to buck the trend by incorporating all extras into the one newspaper.
Source: printweek