Only one English regional daily is now selling more than 10,000 copies a day on average as the latest ABC figures show continuing sales decline across the sector.
The Norwich-based Eastern Daily Press now stands alone as England’s sole regional title with a circulation above 10,000 – one of only four across the whole of the UK.
The Irish News continued to be the biggest-selling regional daily in the country despite a 10.31pc drop in sales in the period July to December 2024 compared to the same period the previous year.
It sold an average 21,181 copies per day – ahead of the Press & Journal on 20,542, The Courier on 15,737, and the EDP on 11,778.
Three English titles which had been selling more than 10,000 a day until a year ago saw their sales slip below that figure for the first time.
They were the Liverpool Echo, the Express & Star – both of which lost a fifth of their sales – and The Yorkshire Post.
Scottish daily The Herald also dipped below the 10,000 mark, falling from 11,364 in the calendar year 2023 to 9,952 in 2024 – a fall of 12.43pc.
Once again the best performing titles in terms of relative circulation decline all came from the Newsquest group – the Norwich Evening News (down 5.06pc), Swindon Advertiser (-8.73pc) and Ipswich Star (-8.97pc.)
By contrast some of the biggest drops in daily circulation came at Reach titles, with the South Wales Echo down 30pc and the Grimsby Telegraph and Burton Mail down 31pc.
One of its daily titles also slipped below the 1,000 sales mark for the first time – the Paisley Daily Express which now has an average daily sale of 987.
Regional Sunday titles also saw big across-the-board declines with the Manchester Evening News on Sunday losing a third of its average weekly sale.
The Herald on Sunday leapfrogged Newcastle’s Sunday Sun to be the biggest-selling UK regional Sunday with an average weekly sale of 5,128.
Table 1: Regional dailies audited six-monthly, listed by average daily circulation
| Title | Jul-Dec 2023 | Jul-Dec 2024 | YoY % change |
| Irish News | 23,615 | 21,181 | -10.31 |
| Press & Journal, Aberdeen | 22,927 | 20,542 | -10.40 |
| The Courier, Dundee | 17,647 | 15,737 | -10.82 |
| Eastern Daily Press | 13,059 | 11,778 | -9.81 |
| Liverpool Echo | 12,106 | 9,628 | -20.47 |
| Express & Star | 11,864 | 9,443 | -20.41 |
| Yorkshire Post | 10,031 | 8,876 | -11.51 |
| Aberdeen Evening Express | 9,449 | 8,457 | -10.50 |
| Shropshire Star | 8,713 | 7,551 | -13.34 |
| The Northern Echo | 8,701 | 7,528 | -13.48 |
| Essex Echo | 7,588 | 6,885 | -9.26 |
| The Scotsman | 7,710 | 6,698 | -13.13 |
| The Sentinel | 7,907 | 6,513 | -17.63 |
| East Anglian Daily Times | 6,621 | 5,904 | -10.83 |
| Newcastle Chronicle | 7,225 | 5,880 | -18.62 |
| News Letter | 6,623 | 5,858 | -11.55 |
| Manchester Evening News | 7,315 | 5,827 | -20.34 |
| Southern Daily Echo | 6,064 | 5,385 | -11.20 |
| Dundee Evening & Weekend Telegraph | 5,634 | 5,007 | -11.13 |
| Leicester Mercury | 6,369 | 4,997 | -21.54 |
| Portsmouth News | 6,081 | 4,921 | -19.08 |
| Bournemouth Daily Echo | 5,429 | 4,761 | -12.30 |
| The Press, York | 5,179 | 4,607 | -11.04 |
| Derby Telegraph | 5,836 | 4,536 | -22.28 |
| The Argus, Brighton | 4,889 | 4,425 | -9.49 |
| South Wales Evening Post | 5,471 | 4,212 | -23.01 |
| Hull Daily Mail | 5,763 | 4,104 | -28.79 |
| Sheffield Star | 4,931 | 4,081 | -17.24 |
| Birmingham Mail | 5,074 | 3,965 | -21.86 |
| Dorset Echo | 4,289 | 3,869 | -9.79 |
| Oxford Mail | 4,115 | 3,738 | -9.16 |
| Bradford Telegraph & Argus | 4,311 | 3,732 | -13.43 |
| Teesside Gazette | 4,877 | 3,708 | -23.97 |
| Swindon Advertiser | 3,757 | 3,429 | -8.73 |
| The Bolton News | 3,797 | 3,375 | -11.11 |
| South Wales Echo | 4,574 | 3,175 | -30.59 |
| South Wales Argus | 3,623 | 3,154 | -12.95 |
| Colchester Daily Gazette | 3,523 | 3,148 | -10.64 |
| The Post, Bristol | 3,785 | 2,981 | -21.24 |
| Nottingham Post | 4,002 | 2,948 | -26.34 |
| Yorkshire Evening Post | 3,414 | 2,844 | -16.70 |
| The Herald, Plymouth | 3,872 | 2,763 | -28.64 |
| Lancashire Telegraph | 3,083 | 2,703 | -12.33 |
| The Leader | 3,041 | 2,697 | -11.31 |
| Lancashire Post | 3,114 | 2,629 | -15.57 |
| Norwich Evening News | 2,725 | 2,587 | -5.06 |
| Worcester News | 2,687 | 2,428 | -9.64 |
| Ipswich Star | 2,597 | 2,364 | -8.97 |
| Coventry Telegraph | 3,213 | 2,312 | -28.04 |
| The Mail | 2,270 | 2,004 | -11.72 |
| Carlisle News and Star | 1,964 | 1,720 | -12.42 |
| Cambridge News | 2,218 | 1,666 | -24.89 |
| Paisley Daily Express | 1,606 | 987 | -38.54 |
Table 2: Regional dailies audited annually, listed by average daily circulation
| Title | Jan-Dec 2023 | Jan-Dec 2024 | YoY % change |
| The Herald | 11,364 | 9,952 | -12.43 |
| Daily Post (Wales) | 8,350 | 6,843 | -18.05 |
| Edinburgh Evening News | 6,226 | 5,070 | -18.57 |
| Western Morning News | 5,863 | 4,921 | -16.07 |
| Glasgow Times | 6,085 | 4,905 | -19.39 |
| The Western Mail | 5,271 | 4,463 | -15.33 |
| Western Daily Press | 4,705 | 3,833 | -18.53 |
| Sunderland Echo | 3,611 | 2,783 | -22.93 |
| Grimsby Telegraph | 4,019 | 2,758 | -31.38 |
| The National | 2,986 | 2,568 | -14.00 |
| The Journal, Newcastle | 2,940 | 2,273 | -22.69 |
| The Gazette, Blackpool | 2,555 | 2,155 | -15.66 |
| Huddersfield Daily Examiner | 2,963 | 2,088 | -29.53 |
| Burton Mail | 1,806 | 1,240 | -31.34 |
| Shields Gazette | 1,420 | 1,133 | -20.21 |
Table 3: Regional Sunday titles, audited annually, listed by average weekly circulation
| Title | Jan-Dec 2023 | Jan-Dec 2024 | YoY % change |
| Herald on Sunday | 5,815 | 5,128 | -11.81 |
| Sunday Sun, Newcastle | 5,836 | 4,454 | -23.68 |
| Liverpool Sunday Echo | 4,830 | 3,797 | -21.39 |
| Scotland on Sunday | 3,996 | 3,350 | -16.17 |
| The Sunday National | 3,511 | 3,083 | -12.19 |
| Sunday Mercury | 3,622 | 2,836 | -21.70 |
| MEN on Sunday | 3,137 | 2,074 | -33.89 |
| Wales on Sunday | 2,514 | 1,856 | -26.17 |
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