Daily Mail suffers biggest April ABC drop

LONDON - The Daily Mail suffered the biggest circulation drop in April, with a 1.81% decrease in monthly circulation, in what was otherwise a fairly stable market, according to the latest national ABC figures.

Only four daily newspapers -- The Sun, the Daily Express, the Daily Telegraph and The Guardian -- reported minor increases in monthly circulation, with the rest of the market experiencing a slight drop in sales.

The daily newspaper market consisted of 11,542,146 copies in April, down 0.45% from the month of March. However, its six-month average is down 3.54% year-on-year to 11,638,894 copies.

The Daily Mail failed to capitalise on the gains it made last month, suffering a 1.81% decrease in April to 2,300,420 copies. Its six-month average is down 2.15% to 2,323,858 copies.

Its mid-market companion, the Daily Express reported a 0.18% rise in circulation figures to 760,086 copies, but its six-month average is down 6.80% to 766,355 copies.

The Daily Telegraph was the best performer among the quality daily market during April, which increased its month-on-month sales by 0.29% to 898,817 copies. Its six-month average is down a slight 0.31% to 900,070 copies.

The Guardian also reported an increase in sales from March to April, which was up 0.09% to 366,556 copies, but its six-month average remains down by 3.71% to 370,934 copies.

The Independent continued its decline during April, suffering a 1.26% drop in sales to 249,536 copies. Its six-month average is down 1.71% to 253,311 copies.

The Times was also down, reporting a 1.62% drop in circulation to 629,157 copies. Its six-month average is down 4.08% month-on-month to 644,230 copies.

The Financial Times suffered a 1.76% decrease in sales during April, down to 452,930 copies. However, its six-month average is up 0.45%, which is the only year-on-year increase within the national daily newspaper market.

In the red-top sector, The Sun reported the highest increase in sales for April, up 0.52% to 3,047,527 copies, but its six-month average is down 2.98% to 3,071,806 copies.

The Daily Mirror was down 0.34% month-on-month to 1,537,143 copies, while its six-month average is down 6.66% to 1,556,523 copies.

The Daily Star also suffered a decrease in circulation, down 0.22% to 770,313 copies. Its six-month average is also down 2.52% to 769,007 copies.

The Sunday market was more volatile, rising overall 0.54% from March to 12,611,982 copies, but fell on a six-monthly average basis by 3.16% to 12,675,087 copies.

In contrast to its daily sister title, The Mail on Sunday rose 3.56% from March to 2,333,699 copies. Its six-month average was down 0.94% to 2,296,474 copies.

It substantially outperformed its rival the Sunday Express, which fell 5.07% to 739,298 copies and is now down 9.44% in six-month average terms to 775,381 copies.

The broadsheets had a good month, in particular the yo-yoing Independent on Sunday, which bounced up 7.26% to 244,809 copies, having been as low as 198,871 copies in December. Its six-month average is down 4.02% to 227,674 copies.

While the Sunday Times continued its drift downwards, the Sunday Telegraph put on 3.8% from March to hit 666,905 copies. The Sunday Telegraph's six-month average is nevertheless down 4.4% to 654,667 copies.

The Sunday Times lost 0.47% over March to 1,231,153 copies, while its six-month average is down 7.72% to 1,252,46 copies.

Its performance looks worse when taking into account that The Observer was also in positive territory, rising 1.63% to 463,128 copies. In common with every Sunday paper, its six-month average is down, by 6.41% to 448,586 copies.

In the Sunday tabloid market the News of the World dropped 0.78% to 3,282,263, while its six-month average fell 6.73% to 3,361,668.

The Sunday Mirror, its closest competition, rose 1.39% to 1,399,690 copies. Its six-month average is down 6.78% to 1,375,557 copies.

Trinity Mirror's The People is down 1.24% on March to 721,667 copies and its six-month average is down 14.1% to 747,266 copies.

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