The Independent’s streamlined sister title i – sort of a cross between the Indy and Metro – saw its circulation rise to 240,000 in January. That means over twice as many copies of the i are distributed than the main Indy paper, and it now also out performs rival The Guardian if freebie copies are included in the mix.

i’s circulation has risen dramatically in the last year, partly because its publishers chose to transfer most of the Indy’s ‘bulk sales’ – so those copies taken by hotels, airlines and such like and given to the consumer for free – over to its younger, slimmer sister paper. Though, that said, i has added paying readers as well, helped partly by a TV advertising campaign at the start of the year.

The aim with i was to appeal to a younger demographic than the other quality papers, mainly targeting Metro readers who like the freesheet’s concise and eclectic style, but were looking for a slightly more broadsheet approach to some stories.

In terms of picking up readers, the new title, launched in October 2010, has been a success, and in the main its growth hasn’t directly hit the Independent’s circulation (aside from the shift of bulk sales over to the newer paper – which has resulted in the main Indy paper’s overall circulation slumping). Whether that translates into commercial success or, indeed, increased web traffic, isn’t clear.

Certainly The Guardian, which now lags someway behind the Indy if both versions are combined, even when bulks are taken out of the picture, generally out performs its closest rival when it comes to online.

Elsewhere in the latest ABC circulation figures for the national print dailies, all titles saw declines year on year, though month on month most were slightly up. The lowest year on year decline overall was the Mail, down 5.85%, while, excluding the main Indy paper, the biggest decline was seen by The Guardian whose print readership fell 17.74%.

Tags: ABC, The Independent

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