BRITISH newspapers may be forced to cut their advertising rates here following new figures which show dramatically lower circulation figures than had been previously claimed.
Latest Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) figures for the London Times, for example, show that the newspaper is selling just 5,566 per day compared to earlier claims of 16,970. The Sunday Times is selling 74,959 copies per week, almost 15,000 fewer than it claimed previously.
Irish publishers calculate their circulation on the number of copies sold. However, British publishers had been counting all newspapers sent to Ireland as part of their circulation.
Now a change in the method of calculating UK newspapers' sales here to that used by Irish publishers has shown sharp differences in the circulation claimed compared to actual sales.
The Guardian's sales are running at 2,237 copies per day, compared to the 4,405 which it claimed previously, while the Daily Telegraph is selling just 3,460 compared to a previous claim of 6,627 copies per day.
The new figures are for the month of April this year only, while the previous claims relate to the period JulyDecember 1996. The method of counting circulation sales for British publications was changed earlier this year, following complaints to the ABC.
In January the Nitional Newspapers of Ireland (NNI) which represents newspapers including The Irish Times, Independent Newspapers and other media interests lodged complaints with the ABC about the overstating of circulation figures.
An ABC investigation resulted in it instructing publishers that all figures given for Ireland must he calculated on copies actually sold.
The change has seen the Sunday Mirror's "circulation" fall by over half. It had claimed a circulation of 88,188, for the period July December last, but its actual sales for April were 42,390 copies per day. The Daily Mirror, at 40,989 copies per day, is actually selling over 25,000 fewer copies per day than previously claimed.
The Sunday People sold 77,790 copies a week last month, compared to a weekly average circulation claim of 120,138 for the last six months of 1996.
The Independent on Sunday is selling just 6,914 copies a week, compared to a previous claim of 13,527 copies, while the Observer sold 8,040 per week, compared to a previous claim of 17,861. The Sunday Telegraph claimed its weekly circulation was 8,166 copies from July December last, but its running average was 3,862 last month.
Media buyers told The Irish Times last night that the new figures will have a serious impact on the newspapers' ability to attract advertising and the rates they can charge for such advertising.
Sources said the Daily Mirror would be likely to be most affected. "Advertisers look at the numbers, and the cost of delivering the product to those readers," said one buyer. "Advertisers are likely to want to renegotiate the rates."
Although the British newspapers have not attracted much advertising to date, the new figures will not help, any planned or existing campaigns. Industry sources said the Sun newspaper, which like the Mirror trumpets an "Irish edition" had been competing aggressively recently for advertising, offering huge discounts in an effort to gain a foothold in the market.
A spokesman for News International, which owns the Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times said the group was delighted that the method of counting circulation had been changed.
He said News International had complained to the ABC four years ago about the Mirror Group, which was using the old method of counting all copies sent to Ireland as part of circulation. Nothing had been done, he said, despite News International complaining to the ABC "every chance we got".
About 18 months ago News International decided to employ the same counting method, to show how ridiculous it was. He maintained that "everybody knew" that these were the gross figures, not the real net figures. Certainly the advertisers knew, he said.
Asked if selling under 6,000 copies per day of the Times was not unviable, he said: "We're not in it for the joke."
The change in calculating circulation figures was welcomed by Independent Newspapers chairman Dr Tony O'Reilly. Speaking at his group's annual general meeting in Dublin yesterday, Dr O'Reilly said there had been a "gross distortion" of the sales of British tabloid newspapers here.
