Sales Figures for Herald, Sunday Herald and Scotsman Drop Back Below Key Markers

After last month each earning a reprieve from their circulations having dropped below the sales figure marks of 50,000, 40,000 and 30,000, respectively, The Herald, The Scotsman and the Sunday Herald have each returned from whence they came.

Says the Audit Bureau of Circulation, The Herald's average sale in Scotland during June was some 48,278, down 4,755 on 12 months previously, or nine per cent, year-on-year. Meanwhile, The Scotsman's average June sale was 39,853, down 3417 on the previous June, equivalent to an eight per cent dip, year-on-year.

And, finally among the trio, the Sunday's Herald average June sale of 29,115 was down 11,434 on 12 months previously, representing a year-on-year percentage drop of 28.

For The Herald, its average sale in Scotland during May was 50,247, while during April it was 49,574. For The Scotsman, its figures were 40,736 and 39,739 and for the Sunday Herald its figures were 32,189 and 29,429.

The Sunday Herald will be no different to its other Sunday rivals in hoping to pick up some extra sales from the demise of the Scottish News of the World, which published its final edition at the weekend, following phone hacking allegations made against it. The Scottish News of the World's average sale in Scotland during June, says the ABC, was 241,600 – down 16,638 on the previous June, or 6.4 per cent.

Yesterday, the publishers of the Sunday Mail announced a quarter of a million extra copies of Scotland's biggest-selling newspaper would be printed in anticipation of an uptake in sales. Its June average sale in Scotland was 329,237 – down 25,521 on 12 months previously, or 7.2 per cent.

The Sunday Post – which today has a voucher in sister title, The Courier, enabling the paper to be bought for half price on Sunday – sees its June average sale in Scotland stand at 213,190 – down 12,146 on the previous June, some 5.4 per cent. The paper on Sunday will come with a free copy of the Dandy comic and will feature a £100,000 cash prize competition.

The Sunday Herald – as reported elsewhere on allmediascotland – is offering readers the paper for 50p on Sunday, using a voucher in today's or tomorrow's Herald.

As for Scotland's two biggest-selling daily newspapers, The Scottish Sun's average June sale in Scotland was 325,325 (down 10,457 on 12 months before, some 3.1 per cent) while that of its rival, the Daily Record, was 278,143 (down 16,279, or 5.5 per cent).

Four newspapers enjoyed increases in their year-on-year average sales in Scotland during June: the Financial Times (up 242, to 3,668, some seven per cent), the Sunday Mirror (up 342, to 22,954, or 1.5 per cent), the People (up 303, to 13,123, or 2.4 per cent) and the Scottish Mail on Sunday (up 460, to 96,647, or 0.5 per cent).

Not around this time last year, the i newspaper registered an average sale in Scotland during June of 11,528.