Telegraph Group Puts An End To Bulk Sales

The Telegraph Group is bringing an end to the practice of bulk sampling and is reducing the number of overseas sales in a move that will see the circulation of the Daily Telegraph fall below 1 million for the first time in almost a decade.

National newspapers use bulk sampling and oversees sales to supplement their circulation figures but the Telegraph Group claims the practice has “outlived its usefulness”. Sampling exercises cost newspapers publishers millions of pounds each year and because they have to be reported with the monthly ABC circulation figures, advertisers are often unwilling to pay for them.

Chief executive of the Telegraph Group, Daniel Colson, said: “Now that there are signs the nine year price war in the broadsheet market is finally beginning to abate, we believe it is a good time to examine subsidised sales. We have proved our point in the nonsensical price war and our circulation lead has been defended. We are less concerned with symbolic circulation numbers than with extending our market leadership.”

The Telegraph group will continue to supply bulk copies to airlines, which it sees as an effective sampling opportunity and will also continue to provide relevant samplings. The group’s managing director, Jeremy Deedes, added: “By adopting this approach we can begin to make significant savings, which we will continue to invest in our papers and in marketing them to our readers.”

The latest ABC figures for the six months ending in August 2002 show that the Daily Telegraph has seen its circulation drop by 1.4% year on year to 1,003,697, down from 1,017,514 in the same period the previous year. However, analysis over a ten year period reveals that the title has seen circulation decline steadily since the late nineties (see below).

The Telegraph Group recently secured Inter-Continental Hotels as the sponsor of its Business Travel supplement, which will be distributed in the Daily Telegraph, The Business and Business Traveller magazine (see Telegraph Ad Deal Spans Business Titles).

Telegraph Group: 020 7538 5000 www.telegraph.co.uk

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