Printed newspapers have struggled to maintain sales and circulation (and thus, of course, ad sales, which makes up the bulk of their revenues) for some years - in fact ever since the internet became a mass-market media and users began ramping up their consumption of online content. Latest statistics from the official measurers of newspaper circulation in the UK would suggest that this trend seems to be deepening.

Tabloid circulation down

The latest figures from ABC, covering June’s circulation, shows that despite the month having a number of newsworthy events – the Queens’ Diamond Jubilee and the Euro 2012 football tournament, for example – the majority of titles measured suffered drops in circulation.

Notable in particular was the drop in circulation in the tabloid sector; in contrast to the normal market activity that sees tabloids increase their circulation whenever England is playing in a major football tournament. Despite England staying in the tournament for over a week, tabloid papers (which include The Sun, The Mirror and The Star amongst others) saw a decline of 0.74% month on month, with The Sun, for example, down 7.65% year on year, although it remains the paper with the biggest UK circulation at 2.583 million.

Quality papers down though midmarket bucks trend

Most “quality” papers also exhibited falls in circulation, although mid-market titles (such as The Daily Mail, and The Express) saw a slight increase, thought to be likely to their heavy coverage of the Jubilee. The Guardian, for example, was down 1.49% month on month, with a significant decline of 17.75% year on year. So when was the last time you bought a newspaper?
Copyright Purecontent Media Limited 19/06/2013.