Decline in newspaper sales

Newspaper sales fell in the first half of the year, with all Irish-published daily titles and Sunday newspapers listed in the latest 'Island of Ireland Report' from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), recording lower circulation.

Figures released today by the ABC show that sales of The Irish Times  fell 7.6 per cent in January to June this year compared to the same period in 2009.

The circulation of The Irish Times  now stands at 105,742, down 8,746 copies compared to 114,488 in the first half of 2009. Sales of the newspaper fell 1.1 per cent compared to the second half of 2009.

The ABC Report shows that the Irish Independent's average circulation fell 4.8 per cent to 144,896, down 7,308 copies on the circulation of 152,204 recorded in the first half of 2009. Sales of the Independent  fell 3.3 per cent compared to the second half of 2009.

The number of "actively purchased" copies of The Irish Times,  which excludes bulk sales and discounted copies, was 91.9 per cent. The percentage of the Irish Independent's  sales that were actively purchased was 87.1 per cent.

On average, the tabloid edition of the Irish Independent  accounts for almost two-thirds, or 64.8 per cent, of its sales.

Sales of the Irish Examiner  fell 7.3 per cent to an average circulation of 46,687 during the period, down 3,659 copies year-on-year from 50,346.

Among the evening dailies, the Evening Herald's  circulation dropped 5 per cent to 67,657, losing 3,530 copies, with its weekend edition falling 2.3 per cent to 40,933. Cork's Evening Echo  recorded a circulation of 22,288, down 7.9 per cent.

The Sunday market was also hit by falling sales, with the highest percentage decline recorded by the Sunday Tribune. The newspaper's circulation fell 17.2 per cent to 54,400 from 65,727, down 11,327 copies on the first half of 2009.

The Sunday Business Post  saw its circulation decline 14.1 per cent to 49,637 from 57,783, down 8,146 copies.

The Sunday Independent's  circulation fell 2.5 per cent to 265,455 from 272,174, losing 6,719 copies year-on-year.

The Sunday World  remained the paper with the highest circulation in the Republic, selling an average of 267,130 copies during the period. However, this circulation was down 3.7 per cent or 10,374 copies on the same period in 2009.

The 'Island of Ireland Report' does not include British newspapers that publish Irish editions. However, separate ABC figures show that the Irish edition of the Sunday Times  recorded a circulation of 111,640 in the first half of the year, down 4.2 per cent or 4,901 copies.

The Irish editions of the Sun, the Star and the Mirror all declined.

Almost all weekly regional titles experienced sharp declines in their circulation year-on-year.