THE first year-on-year sales comparison for the Sunday edition of The Scottish Sun has seen its sales in Scotland fall – in common with all other national daily and Sunday titles, except the i newspaper.
Says the Audit Bureau of Circulation, The Scottish Sun – Sunday launched last year to an average opening sales in Scotland figure during February of 321,302. This is the first time ABC has been able to publish a year-on-year comparison and it reads as a 37.6 per cent drop, with last month’s average sale in Scotland standing at 200,263.
Also notable this month is the absence of The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday, which – like The Herald and Sunday Herald last year – have requested to appear in the twice-yearly ABC regional newspapers report.
In summary, the daily newspapers figures – issued at midday – concern sales in Scotland between February last year and last month and reveal the following:
Daily Mirror – 9.7 per cent drop = from 22,517 on average during February last year, to 20,333 last month;
Daily Record – 9.8 per drop = from 265,096 on average during February last year, to 239,174 last month;
Daily Star of Scotland – 16.2 per cent drop = 61,037 to 51,103;
The Scottish Sun – 12.8 cent drop = 315,575 to 275,161;
Scottish Daily Express – 7.8 per cent drop = 60,559 to 55,784;
Scottish Daily Mail – 5.5 per cent drop = 106,376 to 100,472;
Daily Telegraph – 5.9 per cent drop = 18,813 to 17,698;
Financial Times – 16.8 per cent drop = 3,215 to 2,674;
The Guardian – 9.2 per cent drop = 11,728 to 10,649;
i – 16.5 per cent up = 15,993 to 18,637;
Independent – 40.7 per cent drop = 5,275 to 3,128;
The Times – 0.5 per cent drop = 18,495 to 18,398.
Meanwhile, the Sunday titles’ sales figures in Scotland were as follows:
Daily Star of Scotland – Sunday – 46.1 per cent down = 53,912 to 29,063;
The Scottish Sun – Sunday – 37.6 per cent down = 321,302 to 200,263;
Sunday Mail – 22.2 per cent down = 347,571 to 270,508;
Sunday Mirror – 42.3 per cent down = 36,391 to 20,983;
The People – 47.3 per cent down = 20,540 to 10,824;
Scottish Sunday Express – 14.2 per cent down = 37,319 to 32,002;
The Sunday Post – 17.8 per cent drop = 210,246 to 172,796;
Scottish Mail on Sunday – 9.2 per cent down = 97,842 to 88,863;
Independent on Sunday – 16.6 per cent down = 6,531 to 5,444;
The Observer – 8.5 per cent down = 16,118 to 14,748;
Sunday Telegraph – seven cent down = 17,255 to 16,053; and
Sunday Times – 8.9 per cent down = 52,747 to 48,059.