England’s performance at the World Cup caused an unprecedented surge in newspaper sales during July, with more than half the daily and Sunday titles reporting month-on-month increases.
According to figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), six out of 11 daily publications had a monthly positive change, with The Guardian and Daily Telegraph both enjoying a 1.3% uplift in sales. The Times and Daily Mail also enjoyed positive results, followed closely by the Daily Express and the i.
The Times’ chief marketing officer, Catherine Newman, said a Reuters Institute report in June naming The Times the UK’s most trusted newspaper helped to increase sales: “Our ABC figures for July are testament to the world-class journalism of Britain’s most-trusted newspaper and notably our leading World Cup reporting.”
Sunday newspapers performed equally well, with six out of 11 titles seeing growth month on month. The Observer’s coverage of the World Cup led to a 1.8% uplift in sales, while the Mail on Sunday and the Sunday Telegraph increased 1.6%.
Roland Agambar, chief marketing officer of Mail Newspapers, said the Sunday paper’s retail sales market share of 22.5% showed the brand’s power.
“We’re continuing to put money into retailers’ tills and give our readers the content they love. The fact that one in every four newspapers sold Monday to Saturday is the Daily Mail is testament to the quality of our engaging content and promotions.”
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