News paper front pages all over the world for 21 october 2022 Image: Pixabay
If you ever needed further proof that newspapers – and print in general – are dying a rapid death in South Africa, then keep on reading!
News paper front pages all over the world for 21 october 2022 Image: Pixabay
If you ever needed further proof that newspapers – and print in general – are dying a rapid death in South Africa and that digital is the way of the future, then keep on reading!
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RIP newspapers and magazines, long live digital.
The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) of South Africa has released its daily newspaper circulation statistics for the three-month (quarter two) period April to June 2022.
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A look at the Top 10 list of daily newspapers shows Media24 are responsible for four of those publications – all of whom have performed woefully in terms of year-on-year (YOY) comparisons.
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While Daily Sun remains the most popular newspaper in Mzansi with an average monthly circulation of 32 661, it’s down a whopping 30% from a similar period in 2021.
There were also massive decreases for Isolezwe (Independent Media, down 24%) and Son (Media24, down 23%).
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Furthermore, there were double digit percentage drops for every newspaper in the top 10 barring The Star (up 2%) and Business Day (up 5%), while the Cape Times ‘only’ dropped 4%.
The Cape Times, which once upon a time you couldn’t not see sold on every street corner, now averages a meagre 388 copies sold per day.
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These latest figures are a continuation of a similar trend over previous quarters – and years.
Don’t be surprised to see fewer and fewer newspapers on the shelves in your nearest bookstore, supermarket and street vendor in the near future.
Ranking | Title | Publisher | Circulation | % change YOY |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Daily Sun | Media24 | 32 661 | -30% |
2 | Isolezwe | Independent Media | 30 197 | -24% |
3 | The Star | Independent Media | 27 945 | 2% |
4 | Die Burger | Media24 | 27 757 | -10% |
5 | Sowetan | Arena Holdings | 27 108 | -13% |
6 | The Citizen | Caxton | 26 142 | -12% |
7 | Beeld | Media24 | 21 015 | -11% |
8 | Son | Media24 | 18 317 | -23% |
9 | Business Day | Arena Holdings | 15 187 | 5% |
10 | Cape Times | Independent Media | 11 627 | -4% |