Readers in the UK are becoming more sceptical about their local newspaper, according to a recent study by Fair Betting Sites.
UK adults were asked whether or not they had a positive opinion about 10 different news publications. Shockingly, all of the newspapers in the study achieved a positive sentiment rating of 40 percent or fewer.
The Metro was the most popular newspaper in the UK with 39 percent of respondents reporting that they had a positive opinion on the publication. The Guardian was next on the list at 36 percent but no other newspaper had a positive opinion rating of higher than 32 percent.
Check out the highlights from the survey below:
- Metro (39%) Edges The Guardian (36%) As Most Popular Newspaper In UK
- All UK Newspapers Achieve Positive Sentiment Rating Of Less Than 40%
- Free Metro Newspaper Is Most Circulated Newspaper In UK
- Metro Is 30% More Popular Than The Sun Among UK Readers
Metro (39%) Edges The Guardian (36%) As Most Popular Newspaper In UK
The Metro is the most popular newspaper in the UK, according to a recent study by Fair Betting Sites.
The study, which was based on data compiled from a YouGov survey, examined the percentage of readers with a positive opinion on the publication.
The Metro topped the list of most popular newspapers with 39 percent of respondents reporting that they had a positive opinion on the publication. That was followed by The Guardian, which finished second on the list with 36 percent of respondents indicating that they had a positive opinion on the brand.
The Independent, Daily Mail, The Times, and The Mail on Sunday all tied for third place on the list with a positive sentiment rating of 32 percent.
Here is the complete data for all 10 newspapers below.
- Metro — 39%
- The Guardian — 36%
- The Independent — 32%
- The Times — 32%
- The Mail on Sunday — 32%
- Daily Mail — 32%
- The Sun — 30%
- The Sunday Times — 29%
- Financial Times — 28%
- The Daily Telegraph — 27%
All UK Newspapers Record Positive Sentiment Rating of Less Than 40%
While Metro remains the most trusted publication in the UK, none of the newspapers in the country received a positive opinion rating of 40 percent or higher.
In fact, on average, UK newspapers received an average positive sentiment rating of just 31.7 percent.
Four newspapers (The Sun, The Sunday Times, Financial Times, and The Daily Telegraph) came in below the average.
On the other hand, four others (The Independent, The Times, The Mail on Sunday, and Daily Mail) earned a positive opinion of 32 percent, just above the industry average.
Free Metro Newspaper Is Most Circulated Newspaper In UK
The free metro newspaper overtook The Sun as the most circulated newspaper in the UK in 2019, ending The Sun’s 40-year dominance.
Since then, Metro has remained the top circulated newspaper in the UK and some of its competitors have stopped publishing circulation figures altogether.
To “combat the narrative” that the industry was in a state of decline, several UK newspapers stopped reporting circulation figures in 2021.
The Sun, The Times, Daily Telegraph, and The Guardian are among the leading newspapers that have stopped reporting their figures.
According to the survey results, Metro has continued to supplant The Sun as the top newspaper in the UK. In fact, according to the survey, Metro is 30 percent more popular than its biggest competitor.
Below, we’ll take a look at the most circulated newspapers in the UK based on reported figures.
|
2022 |
2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
2016 |
|
|
Metro |
1,027,989 | 597,979 | 1,426,535 | 1,426,050 | 1,475,372 | 1,476,956 | 1,348,033 |
| Daily Mail | 909,201 | 960,019 | 1,169,241 | 1,246,568 | 1,343,142 | 1,511,357 |
1,589,471 |
|
Evening Standard |
446,257 | 489,405 | 798,168 | 864,620 | 888,017 | 887,253 | 898,407 |
| Daily Mirror | 333,731 | 366,501 | 451,466 | 508,705 | 583,192 | 724,888 |
809,147 |
|
Daily Express |
221,214 | 238,230 | 296,079 | 321,146 | 364,721 | 392,526 | 408,700 |
| Daily Star | 195,545 | 220,126 | 277,237 | 329,971 | 391,998 | 443,452 |
470,369 |
|
i |
142,598 | 141,115 | 217,182 | 233,868 | 257,223 | 266,768 | 271,859 |
| Financial Times | 113,817 | 97,067 | 157,982 | 180,053 | 189,579 | 188,924 |
198,237 |
|
City A.M. |
76,465 | N/A | 85,521 | 85,982 | 90,569 | 90,319 | 97,259 |
| Daily Record | 75,696 | 85,769 | 104,343 | 119,328 | 134,087 | 155,772 |
176,892 |
|
The Guardian |
N/A | 108,687 | 132,341 | 141,160 | 152,714 | 156,756 | 164,163 |
| The Sun | N/A | N/A | 1,250,634 | 1,410,896 | 1,545,594 | 1,666,715 |
1,787,096 |
|
The Times |
N/A | N/A | 368,929 | 417,298 | 440,558 | 451,261 | 404,155 |
| The Daily Telegraph | N/A | N/A | 360,345 | 360,345 | 385,346 |
472,258 |
472,033 |
