The Sun falls below 3m as Mirror drops past 1.5m

by Jacquie Bowser, Brand Republic 11-Jan-08, 12:40

LONDON - December newspaper ABC figures have confirmed The Sun's circulation has dropped below 3m copies for the first month since 1974, and also show the Daily Mirror went under its own significant marker of 1.5m.

The Sun dropped 3.01% month on month to 2,985,672 copies, despite its low London and South East promotional cover price of 20p that began last September. However, its six-month average is only down by 0.86% year on year to 3,117,679 copies.

Its red-top rival, the Daily Mirror, was also affected during the Christmas period, as circulation fell by 1.63% to 1,494,114 copies. Its six-month average was down by a larger 3.92% year on year to 1,545,245. The Trinity Mirror title ran an A3 jigsaw puzzle giveaway during December.

The Daily Star was worst hit, dropping 3.58% from November to 726,465 copies, but its six-month average was down by just 0.49% to 782,790 copies.

Pearson's Financial Times, which increased its cover price to £1.50 this week, was once again the only paid-for national newspaper to record a sales rise during the month. Circulation rose by 0.97% to 449,187 copies and its year-on-year average remains positive, up by 2.15% to 439,710.

John Ridding, chief executive of the Financial Times, said: "These figures round off an extremely successful year for the Financial Times. They reflect strong and sustained demand for quality journalism and the value of our international editorial operation at a time of big global stories".

The Independent's circulation continues to slide in the opposite direction to that of the FT, falling 2.15% from November to 228,400 copies. Its six-month average is down 5.71% to 239,244.

News International's The Times was also affected by the holiday season, as its month-on-month circulation dropped by 3.40% to 615,313 copies. The title's six-month average is down 3.73% to 637,776.

The Daily Telegraph recorded a circulation decrease of 1.06% to 873,523 copies and its six-month average is down 1.69% to 884,601.

The Guardian's sales fell by 0.94% to 353,436 copies. Its six-month average is down 4.25% to 360,263.

The Daily Mail, which celebrated the holiday season with a Christmas DVD giveaway, dropped by 0.72% to 2,310,806 copies. Its six-month average is down by only 0.34% to 2,349,782 copies.

Its mid-market rival, the Daily Express, fell 2.91% to 744,539 copies and its six-month average is down 1.65% to 790,198.