The final chapter on 2016 with the ABC’s for December for a certain amount of papers – we have to wait until the 16th of next month to see the tally for the other papers.
December is traditionally a slow month for papers and many of the days across the month are ‘excluded’ – an allowable feature where, due to circumstances like public holidays or a press failure you can remove those days from your average because of the poor sales.
No surprises this month: the tabloids saw small falls reducing their combined sale for the month by 1,700. The Daily Mail added 1,600 – half from retail sales and half from multiple copy sales.
The Sun on Sunday dropped back 1,600. The Mirror and People also fell, not in the same numbers. The People, with a figure of 8,670, looks like it will fall further in 2017 and you’d have to wonder at what point will it be jettisoned from the Irish Market. The Irish sale only represents 3% of the overall sale – is that enough to keep flogging a dead horse?
The Mail on Sunday, is ostensibly, up 5,600 – almost all of that lift courtesy of the wardrobe department.
Overall the market is down 1,000 on the month and 23,000 year on year.
| Title | Dec-16 | Dec-15 | Nov-16 | Y/Y | M/M | % Y/Y | % M/M |
| Daily Mirror | 34,503 | 38,607 | 35,135 | -4,104 | -632 | -11% | -2% |
| Daily Record | 258 | 254 | 253 | 4 | 5 | 2% | 2% |
| Irish Daily Star | 48,395 | 54,498 | 49,200 | -6,103 | -805 | -11% | -2% |
| The Sun | 55,269 | 55,324 | 55,570 | -55 | -301 | 0% | -1% |
| Tabloids | 138,425 | 148,683 | 140,158 | -10,258 | -1,733 | -7% | -1% |
| Daily Express | 2,449 | 2,405 | 2,363 | 44 | 86 | 2% | 4% |
| Irish Daily Mail | 42,990 | 45,922 | 41,340 | -2,932 | 1,650 | -6% | 4% |
| The Daily Telegraph | 2,324 | 2,493 | 2,185 | -169 | 139 | -7% | 6% |
| Financial Times | 2,395 | 2,252 | 2,336 | 143 | 59 | 6% | 3% |
| The Guardian | 2,416 | 2,404 | 2,211 | 12 | 205 | 0% | 9% |
| The Times | 2,659 | 2,465 | 2,606 | 194 | 53 | 8% | 2% |
| Morning Market | 193,658 | 206,624 | 193,199 | -12,966 | 459 | -6% | 0% |
| Daily Star – Sunday | 13,993 | 15,496 | 14,869 | -1,503 | -876 | -10% | -6% |
| The Sun on Sunday | 52,335 | 51,738 | 54,027 | 597 | -1,692 | 1% | -3% |
| Sunday Mail | 742 | 667 | 679 | 75 | 63 | 11% | 9% |
| Sunday Mirror | 23,052 | 27,964 | 23,778 | -4,912 | -726 | -18% | -3% |
| The People | 8,670 | 10,587 | 9,387 | -1,917 | -717 | -18% | -8% |
| Sunday Express | 2,657 | 2,989 | 2,807 | -332 | -150 | -11% | -5% |
| Sunday Post | 641 | 849 | 617 | -208 | 24 | -24% | 4% |
| The Mail on Sunday | 83,773 | 88,229 | 78,127 | -4,456 | 5,646 | -5% | 7% |
| The Observer | 4,170 | 4,584 | 4,613 | -414 | -443 | -9% | -10% |
| The Sunday Telegraph | 1,662 | 2,059 | 1,868 | -397 | -206 | -19% | -11% |
| The Sunday Times | 81,245 | 77,714 | 83,697 | 3,531 | -2,452 | 5% | -3% |
| Sunday Market | 272,940 | 282,876 | 274,469 | -9,936 | -1,529 | -4% | -1% |
| Total Market | 466,598 | 489,500 | 467,668 | -22,902 | -1,070 | -5% | 0% |
