Major papers in May sales slump

Red top sales decline goes on but mid-market is mixed and Times shows year-on-year increase.

Scots are continuing to buy fewer national newspapers and the big two tabloids are suffering badly according to the latest report  from independent auditor ABC.

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In May 2015, total average daily newspaper circulation in Scotland of national newspapers that feature on the monthly ABC chart (which does not include  publications like The Herald, The Scotsman, The Press and Journal or the Courier) was 660,277, down from 729,536 for the same month last year.

Both the Daily Record and The Sun were down by 11%. The Sun sold 218,708 but the  Record  crashed below 200,000 to register just 186,978.

The Daily Mirror and the Daily Star also lost sales. Mid-market titles varied greatly, the Daily Express was down 13%, and the Daily Mail dropped 2%.

Bucking the trend, sales of The Independent were up, from a very low base, by 1% and The Times recorded a jump of 6% to sell a daily average in Scotland of almost 20,000.

The Daily Telegraph lost 5%, and The Guardian and ‘i’ were each down by 6%.

The Sunday picture saw the Sunday Mail down by 13% to 205,046 and The Sun on Sunday dropping by 12%  to  an average of 155,469.  Total circulation of the Sunday nationals dropped from 800,529 to 719,138.