EL PAÍS widens its lead

EL PAÍS has strengthened its lead among the Spanish general-interest press, maintaining its circulation figures this year, which saw a widespread contraction in sales in the sector and sharp falls in other daily papers.

According to data from the audit bureau OJD, pending certification, EL PAÍS registered in the January to August period a circulation figure of 373,844 copies daily, stable if compared to 375,043 over the same period last year. In August,circulation was up 2%. By contrast, the paper's closest rival saw a 13% drop in sales in the January-August period, with an average figure of 253,173 copies compared with 292,256 one year earlier. In August, its fall in circulation was even greater: 16%. Thus, the difference between EL PAÍS and its closest competitor has now widened to more than 120,000 copies a day over the full year and 129,000 if we just take into account the figures for August.

Among the sports press, As (owned by PRISA) had, as of August, an average daily circulation of 198,670 copies. And business and finance daily Cinco Días (also PRISA) has seen sales grow by 2% through August, with 31,674 copies.