The UK’s national Sunday newspapers failed to continue their recovery after the lockdown sales slump, as the FT saw the biggest month-on-month growth.
Every Sunday title audited by ABC saw a month-on-month fall of between 1% and 3% with the exception of the Sunday Express, which grew by 131 copies.
The Financial Times, which had been the hardest-hit paid-for title with a drop of 39% from March into April, saw the biggest month-on-month recovery of 11% in July.
The free Metro added a further 18% back onto its distribution as pubs, restaurants and cinemas began to reopen in July and people began to venture out of their homes more.
The Daily Mail, which kept its circulation steady between June and July, said in a statement on its ABC certificate: “The Covid-19 pandemic, and the lockdown measures announced by the UK Government on 23 March, significantly impacted print circulation for the April period as readers adapted to the changes and a number of retail outlets closed.
“Supported by increased home news delivery and expert supply management, circulation has remained incredibly resilient during this period, a testament to the Daily Mail’s position as a trusted and powerful source of news to its readers.”
And Reach, whose daily titles the Mirror, Express and Star all grew by 1% month-on-month, said in its statement: “The fourth month of disrupted trading patterns, the impressive joint efforts of editorial, production and circulation teams continues to ensure that readers of Reach brands have their paper of choice readily available seven days a week.
“The focus on home delivery remains key in these challenging times.”
News UK’s Sun and Times titles now keep their figures private and so are not featured in the below table, but the Daily Mail revealed in June it had overtaken the Sun’s print sales for the first time in 42 years.
The Telegraph has withdrawn from ABC auditing to focus on its subscription numbers.
It said it had 505,023 subscriptions across print and digital in July, with 302,168 of those in digital and 202,856 in print.
It added 4,076 net new subscriptions in July.
National newsbrand circulations in July 2020 (ABC) with monthly and yearly comparisons:
| Publication | ABC circulation for July 2020 | ABC circulation for June 2020 and month-on-month change in July | ABC circulation for July 2019 and year-on-year change in July 2020 |
| Daily Mail | 999,390 | 999,976 (0%) | 1,164,319 (-14%) |
| Mail on Sunday | 878,880 | 903,033 (-3%) | 978,062 (-10%) |
| Evening Standard (FREE) | 504,872 | 489,154 (3%) | 845,840 (-40%) |
| Daily Mirror | 388,584 | 383,397 (1%) | 483,120 (-20%) |
| Metro (FREE) | 369,972 | 313,248 (18%) | 1,424,168 (-74%) |
| Sunday Mirror | 320,612 | 322,898 (-1%) | 399042 (-20%) |
| Daily Express | 250,298 | 246,884 (1%) | 306,119 (-18%) |
| Daily Star | 238,690 | 235,609 (1%) | 305,069 (-22%) |
| Sunday Express | 222,746 | 222,615 (0%) | 267,268 (-17%) |
| i | 145,280 | 140,154 (4%) | 229,074 (-37%) |
| Daily Star Sunday | 144,610 | 148,337 (-3%) | 183,127 (-21%) |
| The Observer | 140,100 | 143,913 (-3%) | 157553 (-11%) |
| Sunday People | 125,469 | 127,656 (-2%) | 150,661 (-17%) |
| The Guardian | 110,438 | 111,286 (-1%) | 130,484 (-15%) |
| Sunday Mail | 93,703 | 95,132 (-2%) | 111,909 (-16%) |
| Daily Record | 91,126 | 90,104 (1%) | 110,415 (-17%) |
| Financial Times | 86,694 | 78,287 (11%) | 166,663 (-48%) |
| Sunday Post | 73,355 | 74,279 (-1%) | 95,015 (-23%) |
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