Circulation of 'Irish Times' increases

THE IRISH TIMESwas the only daily newspaper to achieve a rise in circulation in the first half of this year compared to the same period of 2007, according to the Island of Ireland report issued by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) yesterday.

The paper had an average daily circulation of 118,259 between January and June this year. This represented a year-on-year gain of 0.1 per cent, or 109 copies per day.

The Irish Independent'scirculation declined by 0.9 per cent year on year, or by 1,455 copies per day, to 159,363.

The Irish Examinerwas also down. The Cork-based paper recorded a figure of 54,191 for the six months, down 3 per cent or 1,669 copies per day compared with the same six months last year.

The number of "actively purchased" copies of The Irish Timeswas 112,141 while discounted or bulk sales amounted to 6,118. This meant that 94.8 per cent of the circulation of The Irish Times was actively purchased.

The Irish Independent's"actively purchased" circulation was 139,133 - 87.3 per cent - with the balance comprising discounted or bulk sales. Of its daily circulation, 99,334 were tabloid sales and 60,029 were broadsheets.

For the first time, ABC included a breakout of sales in the Republic and other markets.

The Irish Timeshad a circulation of 110,207 in the Republic, 3,929 in Northern Ireland and 4,123 in "other" markets.

The Irish Independenthad a circulation of 149,478 in the Republic, 1,994 in Northern Ireland; and 7,891 in "other" areas.

Within the Sunday newspaper market, the Sunday Worldrecorded the largest circulation, passing out its Independent News Media (INM) stablemate, the Sunday Independent.

The Sunday World'scirculation was 292,124, all of which were purchased at the full rate. This represented a 3.3 per cent increase on the same period last year.

The Sunday Independent'scirculation between January and June was 283,024, down 1.7 per cent, or 4,918 per week, year on year. The paper had discounted or bulk sales of 20,077 a week during the six-month period.

The Sunday Tribune, in which INM is an influential shareholder, recorded a 6.4 per cent decline in its circulation. The Baggot Street-based paper had a circulation of 65,717, down 4,475 copies a week on the first six months of 2007. Just under 10 per cent of the Sunday Tribune's circulation is bulk sales.

The Sunday Business Post, owned by Cork-based Thomas Crosbie Holdings, recorded a circulation of 55,971 between January and June. This was 1 per cent or 551 copies a week down on the same period last year.

The number of copies of the Evening Heraldsold each day continues to decline. The Monday to Friday edition had an average circulation of 79,447 in the latest six-month period, down 4.1 per cent year on year. The Saturday version sold an average 49,112 copies a week, down 4.2 per cent on the previous year.

The Evening Echoin Cork had an average sale of 25,829, down 3.7 per cent year on year.

In Northern Ireland, circulation of the Belfast Telegraphdropped from 83,668 in the first half of last year to 75,964 this year. This was a fall of 9.2 per cent.

The North's other daily newspapers suffered smaller declines. The Irish News fell from 48,613 to 47,911, and the News Letter dropped from 26,803 to 26,199.

The Island of Ireland report does not include British newspapers that publish Irish editions. These figures are published separately in Britain.

They show the Daily Star's Irish edition increased its circulation by 2.9 per cent to 102,026 in the first six months of this year.

By contrast, the Star'sSunday edition here declined by 3.6 per cent to 55,965.

The circulation of the Daily Maildeclined by 6 per cent to 59,443, while the Sunday edition achieved a 1.8 per cent rise to 113,791.

The Sunday TimesIrish edition increased its circulation by 336 copies or 0.3 per cent to 105,690.