Evening Telegraph sales stay relatively stable in year of across-the-board drops

SALES of the Dundee Evening newspaper, the Evening Telegraph, stayed relatively stable last year, albeit still part of an across-the-board downward sales trend among regional newspapers in Scotland.

Says the bi-annual report into regional newspaper circulation, by the Audit Bureau of Circulation, the Telegraph registered an average 22,904 sales during the six months between the end of June last year and the end of December last year, which was down 3.1 per cent on the six-month average during the first half of last year and 1.8 per cent down on the average up to 12 months previously.

In other words, between the six months leading up to the end of December 2010 and the six months leading up to the end of June last year, sales actually went up: from 23,331 to 23,631.

The ABC figures define the big daily newspapers, the Press and Journal and The Courier, as both ‘regional’ newspapers. For the former, it was a December 2011 average of 67,781 versus a June 2011 average of 71,044 and a December 2010 one of 72,767. In other words, falls of 4.6 per cent between June end and December end last year and 6.9 per cent between December end 2010 and December end last year.

For the latter, the figures were 59,754, 61,981 and 63,052, ie down 3.6 per cent and 5.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, for the Edinburgh Evening News, it was 37,250, 39,949 and 41,968, ie down 6.8 per cent and 11.2 per cent.

For the Evening Express, it was 44,038, 47,849 and 49,253, ie down eight per cent and 10.6 per cent.

For the Evening Times, it was 49,096, 52,400 and 54,255, ie down 6.3 per cent and 9.5 per cent.

For the Greenock Telegraph, it was 13,913, 14,342 and 14,720, ie down three per cent and 5.5 per cent.

And for the Paisley Daily Express, it was 7,137, 7,538 and 7,726, ie 5.3 per cent and 7.3 per cent.

More local newspaper figures from Scotland to follow.