Regional ABCs: Irish News retains top spot amid double-digit drops

The Irish News retained its crown both as the biggest-selling UK regional daily and the best-performing during the second half of 2023.

While the News saw its average daily circulation fall by 7pc to stand at 23,615, all other regional dailies across the country posted double-digit decreases, according to the latest ABC figures.

The only other UK title with a daily print sale in excess of 20,000 was the Aberdeen-based Press & Journal, whose circulation fell 14pc to stand at 22,927.

Scottish daily The Herald was the best-performing of the titles whose figures are audited annually, with its circulation down 12pc at 11,364, while is stablemate the Sunday Herald was down 13pc at 5,815.

Some of the biggest circulation drops were posted by Reach plc titles, with the Manchester Evening News down 38pc on 7,315 and the Teesside Gazette, Plymouth Herald, Nottingham Post, Cambridge News, Coventry Telegraph and Hull Daily Mail all down by more than a quarter.

The three tables below show the latest figures for all regional dailies and Sundays.

The first table includes all those titles which are audited on a six monthly basis and covers the period July to December 2023.

The second and third tables include those titles which are audited annually, and cover the whole of 2023.

Table 1. Regional dailies audited six-monthly, figures for July-December 2023

Title	Jul-Dec 2023	% change

Irish News	23,615	-7%
The Scotsman	7,710	−12%
The Bolton News	3,797	−12%
Dorset Echo	4,289	−12%
Aberdeen Evening Express	9,449	−12%
The Leader	3,041	−13%
Southern Daily Echo	6,064	−13%
Yorkshire Post	10,031	−13%
Dundee Evening & Weekend Telegraph	5,634	−13%
Eastern Daily Press	13,059	−14%
East Anglian Daily Times	6,621	−14%
Press & Journal, Aberdeen	22,927	−14%
The Press, York	5,179	−15%
Essex Echo	7,588	−15%
News Letter	6,623	−15%
Lancashire Telegraph	3,083	−15%
The Courier, Dundee	17,647	−15%
The Northern Echo	8,701	−15%
Bournemouth Daily Echo	5,429	−15%
The Mail	2,270	−16%
Swindon Advertiser	3,757	−16%
Carlisle News and Star	1,964	−16%
Worcester News	2,687	−17%
Portsmouth News	6,081	−17%
Ipswich Star	2,597	−17%
Bradford Telegraph & Argus	4,311	−17%
South Wales Argus	3,623	−18%
Express & Star	11,864	−18%
Colchester Daily Gazette	3,523	−18%
The Argus, Brighton	4,889	−19%
Oxford Mail	4,115	−19%
Newcastle Chronicle	7,225	−19%
Leicester Mercury	6,369	−20%
Lancashire Post	3,114	−20%
The Sentinel	7,907	−21%
Norwich Evening News	2,725	−21%
Liverpool Echo	12,106	−21%
Shropshire Star	8,713	−22%
Yorkshire Evening Post	3,414	−22%
Birmingham Mail	5,074	−23%
South Wales Evening Post	5,471	−24%
Derby Telegraph	5,836	−24%
South Wales Echo	4,574	−24%
The Post	3,785	−25%
Sheffield Star	4,931	−25%
Teesside Gazette	4,877	−27%
The Herald, Plymouth	3,872	−27%
Nottingham Post	4,002	−27%
Cambridge News	2,218	−27%
Coventry Telegraph	3,213	−28%
Hull Daily Mail	5,763	−31%
Paisley Daily Express	1,606	−32%
Manchester Evening News	7,315	−38%

Table 2: Regional daily newspapers audited once a year, figures for January-December 2023

Title	Jan-Dec 2023	% change

The Herald	11,364	−12%
The Western Mail	5,271	−14%
Edinburgh Evening News	6,226	−16%
The National	2,986	−16%
Daily Post (Wales)	8,350	−19%
Shields Gazette	1,420	−20%
The Gazette, Blackpool	2,555	−20%
Western Morning News	5,863	−20%
Glasgow Times	6,085	−21%
Sunderland Echo	3,611	−21%
Western Daily Press	4,705	−23%
The Journal, Newcastle	2,940	−26%
Burton Mail	1,806	−31%
Huddersfield Daily Examiner	2,963	−31%
Grimsby Telegraph	4,019	−33%
Hartlepool Mail	1,129	N/A

Table 3. Regional Sunday newspapers, figures for January-December 2023

Regional Sunday Newspapers	Jan-Dec 2023	% change

Herald on Sunday	5,815	−13%
The Sunday National	3,511	−16%
Wales on Sunday	2,514	−18%
Scotland on Sunday	3,996	−19%
Sunday Sun, Newcastle	5,836	−24%
Liverpool Sunday Echo	4,830	−25%
Sunday Mercury	3,622	−26%
MEN on Sunday	3,137	−28%