The Post Office (PO) scan­dal buoyed newspaper sales in January, a leading publisher has suggested.

The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) figures for the first month of 2024 sparked hope for publishers, with signifi­cantly lower rates of year-on-year decline than this time last year. Weekday editions were down by 12.5% compared to 14.6% in 2023, Saturdays were down by 10.5% (2023: 11.7%) and Sundays were down by 13% (2023: 16.9%).

This improvement comes despite the exclu­sion of all sales for 1-7 Jan­uary due to the timing of Christmas and New Year. Some of these days saw a higher-than-average cir­culation for many titles, leaving the ABC reported figures often lower than for the full month.

Signs of improvement

The results indicate the rate of circulation decline might even improve in 2024, with some figures even suggesting it could move to single-digit year-on-year falls. Daily Mail titles saw particular success in Janu­ary. The Mail on Sunday showed resilience, with a year-on-year decline more than four percent­age points lower than the next-best-performing title.

Read more news and advice about the newspaper and magazines category and click here for the latest ABC circulation figures

Shaun Jones, head of circulation for DMG Me­dia, said: “January was a good month for Mail sales on the back of a strong news agenda, including the PO scandal. Addi­tional sales were gener­ated from the traditional health focus to start the month along with our serialisation of Robert Hardman’s latest book on the Royals, with Royal interest continuing with news of operations for Kate and King Charles.”

Read the 23 February edition of RN for a full breakdown of January’s ABC figures.

Explore our online archive of RN back issues