El País sees 3% rise in circulation so far this year

Newspaper El País saw circulation rise by 3% in the first four months of 2011, as compared to the same period in 2010. This significant growth further increases the market lead enjoyed by PRISA's daily newspaper among the Spanish press. Indeed, El País was the only major daily newspaper to have experienced an increase in sales, with regards to the figure for the period January through April 2011, according to data from the Audit Bureau of Circulation, OJD, published yesterday and pending certification.

In these four months, average daily sales of El País stood at 394,793 copies, up 3% over the first four months of last year. This growth contrasts with the significant drop in in circulation experienced by the newspaper's closest competitor, which suffered an 11% decline over the same period, with an average circulation of 265,217 copies.

Overall, first quarter data were skewed by the bad performance of all major newspapers in April. Nevertheless, El País managed to maintain a lead of nearly 100,000 copies daily in April over the second best-selling general-interest newspaper. El País' circulation in April stood at 355,302 copies.

The sports media fared better in April, however, with PRISA's As (201,763) leading in Madrid and Barcelona. Among the business and finance dailies, Cinco Días last month sold 34,681 copies.