THE Sunday Herald newspaper has seen its sales in Scotland drop by almost seven per cent compared to this time last year, representing a relative stabilising of its circulation performance since it relaunched as a ‘news magazine’ in January last year.
Says the Audit Bureau of Circulation, sales of the paper last month averaged 30,936, down 6.9 per cent on the average 32,936 during February last year.
During these last few months, the paper’s year-on-year figures were consistently double-digit drops after the new look (initially a single section, but on high-quality newsprint) led to an immediate and relatively substantial fall in circulation, including from 42,924 in January last year. For instance, the paper’s June 2010-June 2011 year-on-year figure was down 28 per cent.
Meanwhile, while it will take a year before it is possible to report year-on-year results for The Scottish Sun on Sunday, its average sale in Scotland since its launch two weeks ago reported by ABC at 321,302.
The daily figures – issued at midday – concern sales in Scotland between February 2011 and last month and reveal the following:
Daily Mirror – 6.6 per cent drop = from 24,110 on average in February 2011, to 22,517 last month;
Daily Record – 9.1 per drop = from 291,786 on average in February 2011, to 265,096 last month;
Daily Star of Scotland – 13.2 per cent drop = 70,308 to 61,037;
The Scottish Sun – five per cent drop = 332,025 to 315,575;
Scottish Daily Express – 9.7 per cent drop = 67,076 to 60,559;
Scottish Daily Mail – 4.9 per cent drop = 111,833 to 106,376;
Daily Telegraph – 5.6 per cent drop = 19,910 to 18,813;
Financial Times – 15.6 per cent drop = 3,810 to 3,215;
The Herald – ten per cent drop = 51,073 to 45,968;
The Guardian – 12.2 per cent drop = 13,371 to 11,728;
i – 70.1 per cent up = 9,401 to 15,993;
Independent – 32.2 per cent drop = 7,780 to 5,275;
The Scotsman – 8.9 per cent drop = 40,889 to 37,268; and
The Times – 12.3 per cent drop = 21,098 to 18,495.
Meanwhile, the Sunday titles’ sales figures in Scotland continued to be a more mixed bag:
Daily Star of Scotland – Sunday – 120.1 per cent up = 24,414 to 53,912;
Sunday Mail – 1.5 per cent up = 342,319 to 347,541;
Sunday Mirror – 59.7 per cent up = 22,790 to 36,391;
The People – 61 per cent up = 12,759 to 20,540;
Scottish Sunday Express – 8.8 per cent up = 34,313 to 37,319;
The Sunday Post – 4.8 per cent drop = 220,813 to 210,246;
Scottish Mail on Sunday – 1.1 per cent up = 96,812 to 97,842;
Independent on Sunday – 0.9 per cent down = 6,590 to 6,531;
The Observer – 8.9 per cent down = 17,696 to 16,118;
Scotland on Sunday – 16.2 per cent down = 53,371 to 44,709;
Sunday Herald – 6.9 per cent down = 32,936 to 30,654;
Sunday Telegraph – 0.8 per cent down = 17,399 to 17,255; and
Sunday Times – 11.6 per cent down = 59,681 to 52,747.
