Irish Newspaper circulation figures released today for the the first six months of 2006 show that there was a 0.2% annual rise in the circulation of the Irish Times, and sales of the Irish Independent remained unchanged. In the Sunday market, The Sunday Business Post was the biggest gainer with circulation up 7.8% to 55,876.
The audit bureau of circulation's ABC Island of Ireland report shows that average circulation for the Irish Times was 117,797 and the daily circulation of the Irish Independent was steady at 162,582.
Evening Herald circulation was down 6.6% on the year to 87,645, while Evening Echo, published by Cork-based TCH, lost 2.3% to 27,085 and the Irish Examiner was down 0.2% to 57,217.
In the Sunday newspaper market, the Sunday Tribune's circulation fell again - this time by by 1.4% over the year to 72,184, while Ireland on Sunday plunged 10% to 125,254.
Sunday Independent circulation was down 1.2% at just over 287,588, while the Sunday World's circulation in the Republic was down 1% at 204,575. The Sunday Business Post was the biggest gainer in the six months with circulation up 7.8% to 55,876.
ABC newspaper sales figures are only part of the story when measuring the reach of regional titles, the UK-based Newspaper Society said today.
The body, which represents around 1,300 newspapers across the UK, says major changes in the industry in the past year, including the launch of a part-paid, part-free Manchester Evening News, and the blurring between evening and morning titles, has made it increasingly difficult to analyse ABC circulation data.
It said today that the current framework (morning, evening, paid weekly, free weekly, ABC bulk) failed to allow analysis in any meaningful way.
Instead, it is pressing ahead with plans to develop a "multimedia portfolio audience currency" and is working alongside JICREG and ABC Electronic to build an expanded database of regional press print and online platforms.
The Society has set up the Portfolio Audience Group, a small group of regional press research, circulation and readership experts who are looking to achieve a system of audience measurement and reporting which reflects the wider portfolio of print and online, paid-for and free platforms which now makes up the regional press.
