First compact-only month results in gain for The Times

Daniel Farey-Jones,

December 10, 2004

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First compact-only month results in gain for The Times

LONDON - The Times marked its first month as a compact only with a circulation boost of almost 4%, against a background of further falls across the market, according to the latest ABC figures.

The Times put on around 26,000 copies to reach 682,109 for November, registering a month-on-month rise of 3.91%.

The Daily Telegraph looks to have profited from desertion by some Times readers dissatisfied with the compact, putting on 1.4% on the previous month to reach 917,001.

By contrast, The Independent fell 1.41% to 262,293, suggesting that The Times' move may well have cancelled out some of the circulation rises it had made from its tabloid point of difference.

The worst performer among the broadsheets was the Financial Times, losing 3.09% to 425,259. The Scotsman lost 2% of its circulation, dropping to 68,234, while The Guardian remained fairly steady, sliding 0.3% to 377,292.

In the mid-market tabloids, the Daily Express, owned by Richard Desmond, again fared worse than the Daily Mail. The Express was down 2.49% to 892,533, while the Mail was down 0.5% to 2,403,073.

However, Associated also saw another chunk taken off the Evening Standard's circulation figure, down 2.72% to 370,832, providing another reason for the launch of the free Standard Lite on Tuesday.

Among the tabloids, the Daily Star compounds the pain for Desmond, slipping 3.73% to 846,169 and down 0.68% year on year, reversing its recent gains.

The Daily Mirror was down 1.26% to 1,748,026 and The Sun fell 1.19% to 3,239,041. In Scotland, the Daily Record was down 1.72% to 467,421.

The Sunday tabloids also suffered, but the mid-market papers gained most with the broadsheets fairly even. The People lost 7.38%, going under the million mark to 931,019, while the News of the World lost 3.7% to 3,631,057.

The Sunday Mirror fell 2.82% to 1,591,708 and the Daily Star Sunday was down 0.6% to 467,445.

The Mail on Sunday put on 3.86% to hit 2,531,928, while the Sunday Express climbed 2.94% to 996,049.

The Independent on Sunday fell exactly 1% to 212,172, while the other broadsheets were up. The Observer put on 1.53% to 459,952, the Sunday Telegraph was up 0.81% to 694,304 and The Sunday Times was up 0.22% to 1,363,512.

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