The Metro is the only UK daily national newspaper to have increased its distribution year-on-year, according to ABC figures for July, bucking the overall trend of declining circulations.
The free title, which distributes the most copies Monday to Friday in the UK, grew its distribution by 9 per cent on the previous year to 1.47m.
The UK’s two best-selling daily newspapers, The Sun and the Daily Mail, recorded a drop in circulation year-on-year of 9.5 per cent and 8 per cent respectively.
The Sun’s circulation for July was 1.57m while the Daily Mail was at 1.43m.
The i newspaper and The Guardian saw circulation shrink by 10 per cent year-on-year to 267,857 and 149,420 respectively.
The biggest falls in circulation were recorded among some of the Sunday national titles:
- The Daily Star Sunday was down 23 per cent year-on-year to 259,541
- The Sunday Mirror was down 22 per cent year-on-year to 542,823
- Sunday People was down 21 per cent year-on-year to 214,861
Among the national daily titles, the Daily Mirror was the biggest loser, down 19 per cent year-on-year to 625,278.
A Trinity Mirror spokesperson said all Mirror national titles stopped airport bulks in June and reduced foreign sales at the start of July “following a more cost effective print and distribution deal”.
When reduced free copies are taken into account, the year-on-year sales for the Daily Mirror are down 12.5 per cent.
The Times kept circulation more or less the same year-on-year (down 0.19 per cent) at more than 450,000 – the lowest decline among the national titles (albeit helped by an increase in bulks). The Sunday Times was down 1 per cent year-on-year to 765,884.
The Daily Telegraph was down 2 per cent year-on-year to 477,927.
Total UK national newspaper print circulation for July 2017 (source: ABC):
| Publication | Total circulation (July 2017) | % change year-on-year | Bulks |
| The Sun | 1,568,250 | -9.54 | 117,841 |
| Metro (FREE) | 1,470,715 | 9.26 | |
| Daily Mail | 1,425,671 | -8.11 | 64,731 |
| The Sun on Sunday | 1,339,583 | -8.98 | 117,809 |
| The Mail on Sunday | 1,232,789 | -9.07 | 62,772 |
| London Evening Standard (FREE) | 899,484 | -1.77 | |
| The Sunday Times | 765,884 | -1.2 | 93,001 |
| Daily Mirror | 625,278 | -19.13 | |
| Sunday Mirror | 542,823 | -21.85 | |
| The Daily Telegraph | 477,927 | -2.15 | 68,558 |
| The Times | 450,064 | -0.19 | 96,206 |
| Daily Star | 421,812 | -18.39 | |
| Daily Express | 380,632 | -9.9 | |
| The Sunday Telegraph | 351,709 | -7.1 | 34,448 |
| Sunday Express | 330,816 | -11.49 | |
| i | 267,857 | -9.95 | 60,086 |
| Daily Star – Sunday | 259,541 | -22.62 | |
| Sunday People | 214,861 | -20.55 | |
| Financial Times | 186,018 | -4.46 | 21,388 |
| The Observer | 178,545 | -7.94 | |
| Sunday Mail | 152,892 | -14.39 | |
| The Guardian | 149,420 | -10.25 | |
| Daily Record | 143,635 | -13.78 | |
| Sunday Post | 135,181 | -10.24 | 538 |
| City AM (FREE) | 90,908 | -2.45 |
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