Newspaper sales down by more than 7% in second half of 2014

Newspaper sales in Ireland fell further in the second half of 2014, with the daily and Sunday markets both declining more than 7 per cent year-on-year.

The losses for the UK-published titles exceeded those recorded by Irish-owned newspapers, according to figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC). But the print circulation of all the main titles retreated again, continuing a trend that dates back to 2007.

Sales of The Irish Times fell 6.3 per cent in July-December 2014 compared with the same period in 2013. The newspaper's print circulation stands at 76,882.

The Irish Times Digital Edition has daily sales of 2,951, taking the combined net sale for the print and digital editions to 79,833.

Excluding bulk sales, the average number of actively purchased copies of the print newspaper sold each day is 67,744.

The Irish Independent's circulation fell 4.1 per cent to 112,502, with the number of actively purchased copies dropping to 97,578. The Herald, its sister paper, saw its sales fall below the 50,000 mark in the period. Its circulation plunged 11.8 per cent to 49,512.

The Irish Examiner now sells 34,424 copies, down 7 per cent, while Cork's Evening Echo declined 7.4 per cent to 13,110. Both titles are owned by Landmark Media Investments.

Elsewhere in the daily market, the Irish Daily Star has a circulation of 53,245, down 9.5 per cent, while the Irish Daily Mirror fell 10.2 per cent to 46,870. The Sun dropped 7 per cent to 59,119.

The Irish Daily Mail, published by Associated Newspapers Ireland, fell 10 per cent year-on-year to a circulation of 44,117 in the Republic.

The Sunday Independent remains the biggest-selling title, but its circulation has fallen 4.5 per cent to 219,007. The circulation of the Sunday World, which is also part of the Independent News & Media (INM) stable, dropped to 189,562 for the period, down 9 per cent.

The Sunday Times, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's company News UK, recorded sales of 86,059, down 7.1 per cent year-on-year. Sales of the Sunday Business Post arrived at 33,233 in the second half of 2014, down 3.2 per cent year-on-year.

The Irish Mail on Sunday retreated 7.1 per cent to 89,107 in the Republic, while the Sun on Sunday declined 4.2 per cent to 54,881 copies and the Sunday Mirror fell 12.7 per cent to 33,260.