Evening Standard records first yearly ABC rise for two years

by Trefor Moss, Media Week 12-Oct-07, 12:45

LONDON - The Evening Standard fought off competition from the London freesheets to record its first year-on-year circulation increase since July 2005, according to the latest ABC figures released today.

The Standard’s September circulation rose to 291,150, a 4.9% rise on the previous month and a near 0.7% rise compared with September 2006. The newspaper attributed the turnaround to a strong news month, saying that it ran no significant promotions last month and that the launch of its Eros reward card came too late to be a factor in the September figures.

However, the Standard’s average circulation for the six months to the end of September fell by 10.8% year on year, from 310,938 to 277,288.

The London freesheets had a mixed month. City AM enjoyed a strong September, its circulation climbing 21.3% to 99,108 compared with the previous month. This also represented a 9.3% year-on-year rise. The sharp rise compared with August came as a result of the newspaper ramping up its circulation after the quiet summer period, it said. It predicted a return to a 100,000-plus figure in the October ABCs.

Metro in London also upped its figures last month, rising 16.4% to 636,841 copies.

Both London Lite and thelondonpaper recorded a small drop in circulation, however. Lite fell by almost 1.1% to 401,855, while thelondonpaper dipped by around 0.9% to 491,706.