UK papers see surge in circulation figures
View(s):Monthly circulation numbers for newspapers in the United Kingdom have seen an across the board jump in the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations report, according to media reports reaching Colombo
Fifteen of the 24 major national daily and Sunday newspapers saw a month-on-month increase in sales figures in January, with several also reporting a boost in year-on-year circulation.
The Guardian saw a 1.72 per cent year-on-year rise, despite a 20 cents increase in the cover price of the newspaper, after a year that saw the international news brand break stories on the National Security Agency’s PRISM electronic surveillance programme and the collection of Verizon telephone data by the White House, the reports said.
The Sun and the Sun on Sunday saw the largest boost in month-on-month circulation figures up 8.31 per cent and 7.9 per cent, respectively- and their largest percentage increase since January 2011. However the News UK publications both experienced a decline in year-on-year sales.
Guardian Media Group publication The Observer was the only Sunday paper to report an increase in year-on-year circulation, although most of the papers had a post-Christmas sales bump as shown in the month-on-month numbers. Nine of the 12 national Sunday newspapers saw their monthly figures rise in January.
Apart from The Observer and the Sun on Sunday, The Daily Star Sunday (2.66 per cent), The Sunday Telegraph (1.89 per cent), The Sunday Mirror (1.53 per cent) and The Sunday Times (0.63 per cent) all saw an increase in their month-on-month figures.
The Financial Times experienced the biggest year-on-year loss with a 14.95 per cent downturn in circulation, with The Independent having the second largest loss of circulation with a 13.31 per cent downturn, according to these reports.