National newspaper readership increased by 1.2% year on year to just above the 66.5m mark. The most activity was seen in the broadsheet market, which appears to be flourishing despite the recent series of coverprice rises.
The sector's biggest increase was made by The Times, which was up 16.1% year on year, taking its readership to 1,871,000. The paper's Sunday sibling also performed well, with readership rising by 14.8% to 3,522,000.
Notable increases were seen at The Guardian and The Independent, which saw readership improve by 12% and 6.0% respectively. The Observer also recorded a 5.6% year-on-year increase, taking its readership to 1,216,000 for the six months to October.
The only blackspot in an otherwise bright market for broadsheets was provided by the Sunday Telegraph, which saw readership decline by 2.2% to 2,063,000.
Elsewhere, the Daily Mirror, which recently emerged from a fierce coverprice war with The Sun, saw readership slip by 9.9% year on year to 5,247,000. The Sun managed a 3.6% gain during the six months to October. However, the News Of The World fared less well, with readership slipping by 3.7% to 9,766,000. Richard Desmond's Daily Star continued its positive streak, gaining 85,000 readers compared with the same period last year.
Mid-market titles, the Daily Express and the Daily Mail, also had a successful period, with readership increasing by 8.1% and 3.8% respectively in the six months to October 2002.
Report compiled by MediaTel. .
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