ABCs – Steep sales decline continues for Scottish newspapers
Overview by Fiona Booth – Research Manager
Average sales of daily and Sunday newspapers in Scotland* during February were down 1.4% on last month according to new figures released by ABC today. Longer term the Scottish market is seeing a comparably steep decline to the UK as a whole, with total sales of dailies and Sundays north of the Border down 18.8% in February compared to the same time last year.
The Sun continues to be the biggest selling newspaper in Scotland, with an average net circulation this month of 275,161. In second place is the Sunday Mail average sales in February of 270,508 with sister title the Daily Record rounding out the top three with 239,174 this month. The only other title in this market to clear the 200k mark in February was The Sun Sunday, albeit just, at 200,263.
Six titles posted growth in Scotland this month on last – Sunday Mirror, Daily Express, The Observer, i, Sunday Express and The Independent, although the latter’s growth in actual sales was in single digits… The only title to post growth over the longer term, again, was the i, up 16.5% on last February.
The Scotsman/Scotland on Sunday have now followed the Herald/Sunday Herald’s move to release six monthly circulation figures only. This leaves our group of reportable homegrown and tartan-topped titles predominantly in the popular sector with all of the titles losing circulation on the month as well as on the year. The Sun took the biggest hit when compared to January, down 3.1%, whilst sister title The Sun Sunday had the steepest drop year on year, down 37.7%.
All figures sourced from ABC
* Please note The Herald/ Sunday Herald and Scotsman/Scotland on Sunday are now only releasing six monthly figures and are therefore not included in this analysis.