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The Yorkshire Evening Post recorded the steepest circulation decline among regional daily newspapers over the six months to the end of 2017, new ABC figures show.
The Johnston Press-owned title was down 29 per cent on the same period last year to 11,494.
Its sister title, the Yorkshire Post was down 9 per cent year-on-year to 21,817.
But Johnston press saw circulation growth with the Wigan Post, which was up 42 per cent year-on-year to 3,370, including free copies of 1,373.
The Scotsman was also up 2 per cent year-on-year to 19,792, and Scotland on Sunday was up 1 per cent year-on-year to 16,289.
The Carlisle News and Star, which last month was sold to Newsquest as part of its takeover of publisher CN Group, was down 20 per cent year-on-year to 5,381 for its East edition and 24 per cent to 2,026 for its West edition.
Regional daily newspaper ABC figures July-Dec 2017 (print and digital edition combined):
| Publication | ABC Total | Year-on-Year % change | Free copies |
| London Evening Standard (FREE) | 867,325 | 2% | 867,325 |
| Aberdeen – Press & Journal | 48,208 | -7% | |
| Express & Star (West Midlands) | 47,669 | -14% | 9,405 |
| Manchester Evening News | 39,422 | -16% | 17,098 |
| Liverpool Echo | 38,474 | -13% | 771 |
| Belfast Telegraph | 36,403 | -9% | 7,199 |
| Dundee – The Courier | 35,813 | -9% | |
| Irish News – Morning | 34,082 | -4% | |
| Norwich – Eastern Daily Press | 28,970 | -16% | |
| The Herald | 25,869 | -10% | |
| Hull Daily Mail | 23,456 | -13% | |
| The Sentinel | 23,249 | -13% | |
| Shropshire Star | 23,110 | -14% | 818 |
| Leicester Mercury | 22,794 | -12% | 2,314 |
| Aberdeen – Evening Express | 22,736 | -12% | |
| Newcastle Chronicle | 22,401 | -16% | |
| Leeds – Yorkshire Post | 21,817 | -9% | |
| Darlington – The Northern Echo | 21,498 | -10% | |
| Glasgow – Evening Times | 20,874 | -12% | |
| Daily Post (Wales) | 19,842 | -11% | |
| The Scotsman | 19,792 | 2% | |
| Derby Telegraph | 18,106 | -4% | 2,015 |
| South Wales Evening Post | 18,029 | -14% | |
| Plymouth – Western Morning News | 17,629 | -11% | |
| Teesside Gazette | 17,557 | -17% | |
| Southend – Basildon – Canvey – Echo | 16,977 | -8% | |
| Edinburgh – Evening News | 16,660 | -9% | |
| Birmingham Mail | 16,626 | -13% | |
| Nottingham Post | 16,304 | -7% | 2,696 |
| Portsmouth – News & Sports Mail | 16,277 | -18% | |
| The Post | 15,271 | -12% | 1,197 |
| Sheffield Star | 14,716 | -12% | |
| Plymouth – The Herald | 14,681 | -10% | |
| Southampton – Southern Daily Echo | 14,491 | -12% | |
| Bristol – Western Daily Press | 14,472 | -7% | |
| Grimsby Telegraph | 14,334 | -13% | 281 |
| Ipswich – East Anglian Daily Times | 14,101 | -11% | |
| News Letter | 13,710 | -11% | |
| Wales – The Western Mail | 13,419 | -15% | |
| Cardiff – South Wales Echo | 13,394 | -12% | |
| Dundee Evening & Weekend Telegraph | 13,321 | -11% | |
| York – The Press | 13,104 | -10% | |
| Bradford – Telegraph & Argus | 12,382 | -11% | |
| Bournemouth – The Daily Echo | 12,289 | -10% | |
| Coventry Telegraph | 12,256 | -19% | |
| Leeds – Yorkshire Evening Post | 11,494 | -29% | |
| Sunderland Echo | 11,075 | -14% | |
| Cambridge News | 10,808 | -17% | 495 |
| Newcastle Journal | 10,789 | -14% | |
| The Argus Brighton | 10,581 | -5% | 1,066 |
| Huddersfield Daily Examiner | 10,418 | -16% | |
| South Wales Argus | 9,796 | -9% | 349 |
| The National | 9,746 | -6% | |
| Oxford Mail | 9,494 | -7% | |
| Dorset Echo | 9,331 | -9% | |
| Lancashire Post | 9,100 | -15% | |
| Greenock Telegraph | 8,959 | -6% | |
| Colchester – Daily Gazette | 8,859 | -9% | |
| Swindon Advertiser | 8,828 | -8% | |
| The Bolton News | 8,737 | -9% | |
| Ipswich Star | 8,620 | -15% | 2,636 |
| Lancashire Telegraph – Blackburn | 8,426 | -24% | |
| The Gazette – Blackpool | 8,187 | -14% | |
| Norwich – Evening News | 7,507 | -18% | |
| Burton Mail | 7,365 | -6% | 910 |
| Worcester News | 6,574 | -8% | |
| The Mail | 6,058 | -22% | |
| Carlisle – News and Star East | 5,381 | -20% | 24 |
| South Shields – Shields Gazette | 4,602 | -18% | 37 |
| Paisley Daily Express | 4,508 | -6% | |
| Hartlepool Mail | 4,183 | -18% | 66 |
| Wigan Post | 3,370 | 42% | 1,373 |
| Carlisle – News and Star West | 2,026 | -24% |
VMS Commercial Features Writer, Verdict
Head of Audio, Financial Times
i too wonder how much longer Archant can continue to prop up ailing daily and weekly papers which have completely lost their audiences and commercial markets,and are reaching a small proportion of their local potential .
The EDP now selling a mere 29,000 and the Norwich Evening Morning News at a pathetic 7,500 copies is truly shocking .
Neither carry more than a handful of heavily discounted adverts so to carry on throwing good money after bad on papers with huge overheads and few readers makes no sense whatsoever and will jeopardise the whole business if action isn’t taken pdq.
Just how many more losses and warning signs that things aren’t working so the board at Archant need?
Or is it only the vanity project New European they’re interested in having resigned themselves to the irrecoverable fate of the newspaper portfolio?
The Eastern Daily Press continues in free fall with yet another huge six month copy sale ABC loss, this time a staggering 16% down on an already declining readership, just 3% penetration of the catchment area ,just how much longer can Archant allow losses of this magnitude to continue before going digital edition only,merging with the EADT or closure?
Costs rising and revenues falling will be another concern for the shareholders whose patience is running out.
Mr New European and his policy of death by his templating has a lot to answer for.