El País closes January-May with 402,089 copies

Newspaper El País has closed the first five months of the year with an accumulated average figure of 402,089 copies, thus strengthening the paper's position in the non-giveaway press sector. Over the period January-May, the paper maintained its lead of 86,000 copies over its nearest rival.

According to the figures from the audit bureau OJD (Oficina de Justificación de la Difusión), in May, El País reported an average daily figure of 384,751, well ahead of the figure of 312,002 enjoyed by its nearest rival. El País thus strengthens its lead in a month that saw most papers suffer a fall in circulation.

Among the sports papers, As continues to enjoy robust sales and circulation, despite the economic downturn. The paper closed the month of May with a circulation figure of 211,155, up 7,000 over April's figure. By region, As has held its lead in Madrid, with circulation at 63,583 copies and a market share of 54.6%, up two points over the same month last year. As is also ahead of the other papers in Catalonia, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura in the first five months of 2009.