Irish Newspaper Circulation November 2011

Our penultimate figure for 2011 and still no Ho Ho Ho!

Looking at the month on month figures the Sun seems to have had a real dip loosing over 4,500 copies in a month. The sales have most likely disappeared into the ether and, if you’re a regular watcher, that’s a euphemism for gone, never to return.

December (due to the festivities) normally sees the morning market drop by about 5% so it’s looking like a bad end to the year for News International.

The Daily Star is not fighting a battle on two fronts. It’s bad enough being in the trenches fighting in the tabloid market against the other red tops, without a sort of mutiny. Their partner in the JV Northern shell decided to sell the UK version of the Daily Star beside the Irish version. Granted it’s the same price and has a distinctive blue masthead but that doesn’t help matters.

In November it managed to sell 680 copies of the UK edition. I’d argue strongly that they were sales that would have otherwise gone to the Irish version. Now you may be rolling your eyes at the paltry figure of 630 copies – but it equates to just shy of €300,000 per annum at the till.

That’s money that was once going to Independent Star Limited (the Irish Version company) and is now winging its way into UK coffers. It’s not a jingoistic rant. I’d much prefer if that money was being looked after by Paul Cooke (MD) and Ger Colleran (Ed) up in Dundrum.

The tabloids are back over 6,000 month on month and 25,000 year on year, the market as a whole (sans the papers who produce lightening quick results twice a year*) is back 34,000.

The Sundays are holding up well and only back 7,000 month on month. The Sunday Mirror are still keeping a grip in the papers the gained after the News of the World closed, although with that slipping by 3,000 in November they might be loosening their grip. The People are also up and andy gains that the Mail on Sunday made are well and truly gone.

Sunday market back over 111,000 year on year.  

* I couldn’t help but spell this out at the bottom of the article here