Times O.C., Register Post Circulation Gains

The Times Orange County Edition and the Orange County Register increased their circulation figures over the last year in the highly competitive Orange County market, according to figures released by the independent Audit Bureau of Circulations.

The Times Orange County’s daily and Sunday circulation rose for the fourth consecutive year, according to the auditing firm in Schaumburg, Ill. Daily circulation grew 3,758, or 1.9%, to 198,126 at the end of March. Sunday circulation increased 3,641, or 1.3%, to 291,323.

Bill Furlow, marketing director of The Times Orange County, attributed the increase to a “very aggressive and relevant editorial product” and the paper’s ability to inform the public of the extensive Orange County news coverage in the edition.

“Even an objective person would have to admit that over time, we are better able to communicate to readers in Orange County that we really do have a lot of local news and that it’s high-quality local news. That’s a message that just takes time to filter through the whole community.”

The Register’s average daily circulation in Orange County, which had been dropping for two years, rose 11,052, or 3.5%, to 322,799 at the end of March. Its Sunday circulation in the county increased 5,688, or 1.5%, to 373,325.

The Register attributed its gains to changes in its marketing, distribution and editorial product. The newspaper said its circulation also was boosted by a change in the way it accounts for subscriptions. Last year, it started giving its Saturday edition free to Sunday-only subscribers while also adding Saturday’s sales to its ABC daily circulation reporting week. Previously, it counted daily circulation only on the basis of newspapers sold Monday through Friday.

The changes added more than 8,000 to the Register’s daily subscription average, but a loss in street sales on Saturdays cut the daily increase down to about 2,400, said John Schueler, the Register’s general manager. “We think we have regained the momentum,” he said.

Furlow disputed any talk about momentum changing. “After three years of being down, the Register now returns to its 1990 circulation levels,” Furlow said. “It’s virtually flat today from where it was three years ago. Since 1989, our increases have been steady and consistent, while the Register’s (circulation) has been up and down.”

He said the Register may now suffer from the shutdown of its afternoon edition on April 1, a day after the ABC reporting period ended.

The Register has managed, however, to hold on to nearly all of the 52,000 subscribers who took that edition, according to Schueler.

Overall, the Register’s total daily circulation in Orange and surrounding counties was up 13,045 to 351,498 at the end of March, a 3.9% increase. Sunday circulation rose 11,085 to 411,965, up 2.8%.

As reported last week, total daily circulation at the Los Angeles Times, which vies with the New York Times as the nation’s largest metropolitan daily, fell 26,035, or 2.2%, to 1,138,353 while Sunday circulation dipped 10,330, or 0.7%, to 1,521,197.