The figures also show that Kuier magazine grew by 108% (all in copy sales), the highest growth of all!
"Copy sales mean democracy in sales and this is fantastic. And whatever these guys are doing for their titles to perform so well is not a fluke, but printed in black and white and it should be celebrated," ABC VP Gordon Patterson told journalists late last week at the organisation's headquarters in Parktown, Johannesburg.
Weekly newspaper kings
Zulu publication Ilanga scored 34.3%, Soccer Laduma 20% and Mail & Guardian 8.6%, emerging as the kings of the weekly newspapers and possibly of all newspapers, in an industry that continues to bite the dust as transportation costs soar by 40%.
Daily newspapers sold 126 000 fewer copies in Q2 2011, compared to 70 000 less in Q1 2011, the circulation watchdog said, adding that digital growth increased significantly, albeit off a small base.
Among the top six dailies listed by ABC in terms of year-on-year copy sales - Daily Sun, Isolezwe, Son (Afrikaans), Sowetan, The Star, The Citizen - only Zulu title Isolezwe showed a creditable growth of 9.5%. Ten titles declined and eight remain static.
Praise for The Times
Patterson also said praised The Times for experiencing a significant growth in paid circulation, both in copy sales (38 237) and subscriptions (76 258), despite the latter being only obtained as part of a twin offering with the Sunday Times.
The weekend newspaper struggle continues and who knows when victory will be in sight, as total circulation fell by 4.4% year-on-year? Fourteen titles declined and five remained static, while only four grew.
Zulu titles Isolezwe ngeSonto (9.5%) and Ilanga Langesonto (11%) performed well, while Afrikaans newspapers Volksblad (-19%) and Rapport (-12%) reflected the largest declines.
'Not sure if it is linked to credibility'
"I am concerned about the decline in copy sales of weekend newspapers," a visibly worried Patterson said. "I'm not sure if it is linked to the credibility of some of these newspapers, but this is democracy in sales, whereby people are choosing not to buy."
Commenting on Afrikaans newspapers, whose circulation declined for the first time in as many quarters, Patterson said: "If Afrikaans-speaking readers are not reading their own language, I wonder what they are reading.
"The rise in copy sales could be a groundswell of curiosity from the people feeling good to read newspapers printed in their own languages, which is fantastic."
Media inflation
Media inflation, which Patterson described as a very critical factor in the advertising point of view, miserably dropped further (13.4%), meaning the return on investment being derived from print has worsened.
In the magazine division, Afrikaans title Kuier (consumer, women's general) scored a truly amazing score (108%) in a highly inconsistent and unstable environment, where once again circulation declined dramatically.
Other Q2 2011 winners in the magazine division include Club X (72%), Reality (60%), Mamas & Papas (38.6%), Foschini Sport (38%), Commercial Trader (35%), Stuff (29%), Fitness (20%), Amakhosi (19%), Elle (17%), Drum (14%), Baba & Kleuter (14%), Succeed (12.2%) and Move! (11%).
Download the ABC results:
For more, go to www.abc.org.za and follow @AbcSouthAfrica on Twitter.
