Sunday red-top and mid-market papers lose post-News of the World gains

All red-top and mid-market national Sunday newspapers suffered circulation declines of between 20% and 40% year on year in July, with the massive sales gains that followed the closure of the News of the World a year ago wiped out. The Sunday quality national newspaper market also received a massive sales boost last July, thanks to nationwide interest in the phone-hacking scandal. This means that the officially audited month-on-month and year-on-year sales figures paint very different pictures of the health of newspaper circulation in the Sunday market. The Sunday tabloids that benefited from the News of the World's closure had already lost much of that sales boost by the time News International's Sunday edition of the Sun launched in late February and have seen further declines since then. On a year-on-year basis the People was down 43%, from a post-NoW closure surge to 806,544 last July to 459,032 last month, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations figures published on Friday. Trinity Mirror stablemate the Sunday Mirror was the second most badly hit title proportionately, with year-on-year sales down more than 39% year on year from 1.78m to 1,077,882. Richard Desmond's Daily Star Sunday was down 35% year on year, stablemate Sunday Express fell 22%, and the Mail on Sunday was down 21%. The national Sunday quality market was also hit, with the various titles down between 7% and 29% year on year. The Sunday Times was the comparatively the best performer, down 7.48% year on year, while the Sunday Telegraph fell 8.95% and the Observer – published, like MediaGuardian, by Guardian News & Media – dropped 15%. The Independent on Sunday was the largest faller, down 29% year on year, although it was also impacted by a decision to cut back heavily on international distribution. On a month-on-month basis the People was the only title in the red-top and mid-market sectors to boost sales, up 2%, passing arch-rival the Daily Star Sunday, which fell back by 3.58%, despite being priced 40p higher at £1. Three titles in the Sunday quality market managed month-on-month gains: the Observer rose 0.47%; the Sunday Telegraph led the field with a 1.38% gain; and the Sunday Times had a 0.38% uplift. The Sun - Sunday edition Headline circulation: 2,157,482 Month-on-month change: -1.48% Year-on-year change: n/a Overseas: 65,096 Mail on Sunday Headline circulation: 1,779,449 Month-on-month change: -2.46% Year-on-year change: -21.10% UK and Ireland paid-for circulation: 1,577,394 (88.6% of total) Overseas: 102,124 Bulks: 99,930 Sunday Mirror Headline circulation: 1,077,882 Month-on-month change: -0.98% Year-on-year change: -39.66% Overseas: 50,162 Sunday Express Headline circulation: 503,492 Month-on-month change: -1.82% Year-on-year change: -22.40% Overseas: 18,525 The People Headline circulation: 459,032 Month-on-month change: +1.99% Year-on-year change: -43.09% Overseas: 24,757 Daily Star Sunday Headline circulation: 456,429 Month-on-month change: -3.58% Year-on-year change: -35.13% Overseas: 12,844 Sunday Times Headline circulation: 919,424 Month-on-month change: +0.38% Year-on-year change: -7.48% Overseas: 51,894 Sunday Telegraph Headline circulation: 456,487 Month-on-month change: +1.38% Year-on-year change: -8.95% Overseas: 12,683 The Observer Headline circulation: 245,094 Month-on-month change: +0.47% Year-on-year change: -15.15% Independent on Sunday Headline circulation: 118,759 Month-on-month change: -3.12% Year-on-year change: -28.99% UK and Ireland paid-for circulation: 63,673 (53.6% of total) Overseas: 518 Bulks: 54,569 Headline circulation includes lesser rate sales, subscriptions, bulks – copies sold to airlines, rail companies, hotels and gyms for a nominal fee and given free to the public – and distribution in Ireland and overseas. UK and Ireland paid-for circulation excludes bulks and overseas distribution; where this figure is not given, bulks and overseas distribution account for less than 5% of total circulation