Regional daily newspapers in the United Kingdom (UK) 2020-2023, by circulation

In the first half of 2023, the leading regional daily newspaper in the United Kingdom was Irish News, with a total circulation of just over 25 thousand. Despite its leading position in the ranking, the newspaper suffered an eight percent drop in circulation compared to the first half of 2022. Liverpool Echo was hit particularly hard with a year-over-year decline of 27 percent. All the top ten daily regional newspapers saw a YOY decrease, and the first six months of 2023 marked the first period in which the majority of leading regionals had a circulation of under 10 thousand.

Spotlight on Manchester Evening News

Manchester Evening News dropped out of the top 10 in the first half of 2023 after Reach chose to end free copies of the publication due to increasing newsprint costs and the paper's significant online audience rendering free print copies unnecessary. Free copies in general saw a drop in terms of circulation type, but digital audience was also down. Whilst Manchester Evening News remains the leading regional news brand by audience, its audience was down by almost 30 percent year over year. Other papers are also affected, with advertising revenue down and an increasing reliance on social networks and apps for news.

The price of news

Getting the public to pay for news in a landscape where there is a proliferation of free content is no mean feat. Indeed, the paid circulation of national newspapers in the UK fell for several large publications between 2022 and 2023, the Daily Star, Daily Record, and Daily Mirror all seeing a decline of 14 percent year-over-year. Meanwhile, the cover price of national newspapers, at least in some cases, doubled over the course of a decade. Annual subscriptions to digital news sites are also not always affordable for the average consumer, with some costing around 300 GBP per year.