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ABC Analysis Q2 2013: MarkLives’ Big Newspaper List

The ABC has released circulation statistics for the period April 2013 to June 2013. Here are a couple of numbers that stood out in terms of newspaper circulations.

Note: We compare the current figures with the same figures for this time last year and not with the previous quarter.

ABC member circulation totals:
Daily Newspapers: down to 1,494,023 from 1,599,299 for the previous corresponding period
Weekly papers: down to 619,400 from 668,954
Weekend papers: down to 2,205,462 from 2,396,355
Local papers: down to 437,815 from 465,158
‘Hydrid’ papers: down to 165,641 from 166,951

Latest newspaper circulation figures. Yowzer!

There’s blood on the floor in the most recent set of print sales figures – for the second quarter (Q2) of this year that were released this week by the Audit Bureau of Circulations of SA (ABC) – but there are also titles fighting for their lives, street by street, and even winning back a tiny bit of territory.

There are a few newspapers out there that are actually managing to arrest circulation decline – and not just in the vernacular market.

This tells us that it is possible in newspapers today to be interesting and have meaning to people but you have to think very deeply about how to be relevant and you have to work very hard and be very patient about getting there, street by street, block by block.

This is not a traditional battle on open terrain but difficult, complicated urban warfare.

ABC Round-up Q2 2013: Newspapers cont circ decline, consumer mags fall by 13%

Extracts from the latest 2nd Quarter ABC presentation given by Gordon Patterson. Total Newspapers decreased by 33,000 copies compared to the previous quarter. Daily circulation has declined annually by 6.76% since 2009, equivalent to 466, 000 copies. Weekend paper circulation has declined annually by 4.3% (429,000 copies) over the last four years.

Pistorius the ultimate litmus test for declining circulation (ABC Q1 2013 figures)

by Gill Moodie (@GrubstreetSA) That SA newspaper circulation is in decline is common cause these days but the latest set of figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations of SA (ABC) figures – for the first quarter of 2013 – really rubs it in.

Consider that we had the biggest, most compelling news event to hit SA in many years – the arrest of Paralympian superstar Oscar Pistorius for the murder of his girlfriend model Reeva Steenkamp in that quarter – and it had little effect on the circulation figures!

While SA web traffic was off the charts in February, our newspapers could not capitalise in terms of sales.

Even Beeld, which is more of a Pretoria newspaper than a Jo’burg one, did not make merry on sales in this quarter despite it serving up the best consistent coverage of the story that happened in its backyard (the murder occurred in Pistorius’ home in Pretoria) with many excellent breaks and exclusives.

Beeld was at 65 645 total circulation in the first quarter of this year compared with 72 599 in the corresponding period a year earlier. Q1 in 2013 was also down on previous quarter – Q4 2012 – which was 66 132.

Maybe the editorial, marketing and distribution departments at Beeld did not co-ordinate on Pistorius – and it would be interesting to know what their returns were in Q1 2013 – and, if so, this is really a publishing failure rather than an editorial one.

When you’ve got big breaks on a big story, you’ve got to make a lot of noise about it – increase the postering and the print run, get the trucks out there early and also get your social-media manager (and you should have one by now: its 2013) piqueing interest. And then you have to keep the exclusive offline for a few hours while you push the papers on the streets.

ABC Analysis Q4 2012: Oops! Newspapers just did it again

Yup print newspaper proprietors generally did a decent impression of Britney Spears’ career path judging by the current (continuing downward) trajectory of newspaper print circulation.

The ABC has released circulation statistics for the period October 2012 – December 2012. Here are a couple of numbers that stood out in terms of newspaper circulations.

Note: We compare the current figures with the same figures for this time last year and not with the previous quarter.

Daily newspapers

Beeld falls to 66,132 from 73,486. Cape Argus falls to 32,337 from 44,159 and the Cape Times falls to 34,627 from 42,849. Tabloid Daily Sun is down to 322,324 from 380,683 (336,319 in Q3 2012). Pretoria News – down to 17,576 from 21,721. Son falls to 96,598 from 105,775 and the Sowetan is down to 100,349 from 117,862. The Star – 102,244 down from 128,683.

Isolezwe is up slightly to 106,858 from 103,467.

ABC Analysis Q3 2012: Bad news for newspapers gets worse

Last ABC Period: July 2012 to September 2012

The ABC has released circulation statistics for the period July 2012 to September 2012. Here are a couple of numbers that stood out in terms of newspaper circulations.

Note: We compare the current figures with the same figures for this time last year and not with the previous quarter.

Daily newspapers

The Cape Argus lost a huge chunk of circulation falling to 33,006 from 45,128 for the corresponding period last year. The Cape Times tried to equal the nose dive falling to 34,523 from 43,274. Pretoria News fell to 19,235 from 23,148 and The Star to 105,686 from 136,552. Anybody still bidding for Independent News & Media South Africa? Seriously?

Daily Sun continued its decline to 336,319 from 374,400. Son fell to 94,610 from 103,056, Sowetan to 101,155 from 116,347. Beeld dropped to 70,070 from 76,951.

Isolezwe bucked the trend to climb slightly to 107,628 from 106,734.

MarkLives Big Daily Newspaper List*

1. Daily Sun 336,319
2. The Times** 138626
3. Isolezwe 107,628
4. The Star 105,686
5. Sowetan 101,155
6. Son 94,610
7. Beeld 70,070
8. The Citizen 66,116
9. Die Burger (Wes Kaap) 51,022
10. Business Day 35,828