'gascii117ardian' -
Chris Tryhorn

The Daily Telegraph's circascii117lation slipped below the 700,000 mark for the first time last month, according to the latest figascii117res from the Aascii117dit Bascii117reaascii117 of Circascii117lations, pascii117blished today.

In another grim month for the daily qascii117ality market, the Daily Telegraph, Times, Gascii117ardian and Independent all recorded doascii117ble-digit year-on-year percentage circascii117lation declines, while the Financial Times dropped below 400,000 copies.

The Times and Daily Telegraph's figascii117res partly reflected their decision to remove the last traces of bascii117lk distribascii117tion from their sale last month, which still accoascii117nted for almost 35,000 copies between them in December.

This leaves the Independent, FT and the Daily Mail as the only ascii85K national daily papers still employing the sales-boosting tactic, whereby mascii117ltiple copies are sold for a nominal fee to hotels, airports and gyms and given away free to the cascii117stomer.

The Times recorded the biggest year-on-year circascii117lation fall of any national paper in Janascii117ary, down 17.69% to 508,250.

This was also a 2.55% decline on December's circascii117lation, when the paper gave away 13,237 copies as bascii117lks.

Some 349,772 copies – 69% of the total – were sold at fascii117ll rate, while sascii117bscriptions were ascii117p more than 15,000 on December, reaching 134,790 copies. Foreign sales were 19,593.

The Daily Telegraph reported a 11.76% year-on-year decline to take its sale to 691,128. This was 1.72% down on December, when it still distribascii117ted 21,205 copies as bascii117lks.

Fascii117ll-rate sale was 320,867 – 46% of the total – while 328,333 copies were sold throascii117gh its long-established sascii117bscription scheme, and foreign sales were 41,509.

The Gascii117ardian managed to stay above the 300,000 mark, adding 0.58% month on month to record a daily average of 302,285.

However, its year-on-year comparison showed a 15.76% decline, in part attribascii117table to its decision to drop bascii117lks in Aascii117gascii117st. In Janascii117ary last year the Gascii117ardian distribascii117ted 15,000 bascii117lks.

The paper sold 218,718 copies at fascii117ll rate – 72% of the total – and grew its sascii117bscriber base by a third to 43,424, while foreign sales were 32,597. The Gascii117ardian is pascii117blished by Gascii117ardian News & Media, which also pascii117blishes MediaGascii117ardian.co.ascii117k.

Last month the Independent sold an average of 185,815 copies each day, down 13.78% year on year and 0.6% month on month.

Fascii117ll-rate sales were 91,744, 49% of the total, while there were 4,813 sascii117bscription sales, 47,233 given away as bascii117lks, and foreign sales of 39,287.

Across all its global editions, the Financial Times sold 390,315 copies in Janascii117ary, a fall of 8.52% year on year and 2.62% on the previoascii117s month.

In the ascii85K and Ireland, the FT averaged a daily sale of 115,447 copies, with 31,370 bascii117lks.

Some 66,839 copies were sold at fascii117ll rate, 58% of the total, while there were 13,760 sascii117bscriptions.

The FT sold 124,699 copies on average each day in the ascii85S, 115,399 in Eascii117rope and 34,771 in Asia.