The Media in Figures: Newspaper sales, Scots ‘regional’ titles

THE Sunday Herald newspaper has registered an increase in its print sales these last few months, according to ABC (aka Audit Bureau of Circulations).

In its latest survey of regional newspaper sales, ABC found that the Glasgow-based title enjoyed an average print circulation for the six months up to the end of June of 25,125.

In other words, a 5.1 per cent increase on the average six months leading up to the end of December last year and an one per cent increase on the average six months leading up to the end of June last year.

But the Sunday Herald’s joy contrasted with widespread print sales drops elsewhere.

The figures were release by ABC yesterday noon and concern only those titles that returned six-monthly figures, which excludes almost all of Scotland’s local, weekly newspapers because their returns are annual.

The other Scots figures were as follows:

Evening Express: average print sales for the six months up to the end of June – 34,894, down 2.8 per cent on the average leading up to the end of December last year and down 9.2 per cent, year-on-year;

The Press and Journal: 62,177 (down 2.5 per cent and down 5.1 per cent);

The Courier: 48,752 (down 3.1 per cent and down 6.5 per cent);

Evening Telegraph: 19,766 (down 3.2 per cent and down 4.2 per cent);

Edinburgh Evening News: 25,908 (down 6.3 per cent and down 14.1 per cent);

Evening Times: 33,397 (down 6.6 per cent and down 14.9 per cent);

The Herald: 37,728 (down 3.1 per cent and down 8.1 per cent);

Paisley Daily Express: 6,477 (down 4.3 per cent and down 14.4 per cent);

The Scotsman: 27,208 (down 7.6 per cent and down 13.2 per cent);

Aberdeen Citizen [free title]: 52,853 (down 0.1 per cent and down 0.1 per cent);

The Orcadian: 8,346 (n/a);

Scotland on Sunday: 30,279 (down 7.7 per cent and down 19 per cent); and

West Highland Free Press: 7,410 (down 1.7 per cent and down 2.1 per cent).

Those titles that submit only annual figures will be included in a regional newspapers report being published by ABC early next year.

* * *

Meanwhile, adds ABC, the websites scotsman.com, eveningtimes.co.uk and heraldscotland.com each enjoyed big leaps in their average unique visitors numbers, both daily and monthly.

For scotsman.com, its average daily ‘derived’ unique visitors number for the six months up to the end of June was 160,118 – up 17.5 per cent on six months previously and up 33.8 per cent, year-on-year. Its monthly figures were: 2,948,379 – up 12.5 per cent and up 32.9 per cent.

For eveningtimes.co.uk, the daily numbers were 34,139, up 38.9 per cent and up 73.8 per cent, while the monthly ones were 626,532, up 41.7 per cent and up 81 per cent.

And for heraldscotland.com, the daily numbers were 87,795, up 26.4 per cent and up 37.8 per cent, while the monthly ones were 1,828,850, up 28.3 per cent and up 48.8 per cent.

Source: ABC, August 27 2014.