Sunday papers still on rise after NoW demise

Sunday newspaper publishers today claimed sales have kept increasing for a second weekend after the demise of the News of the World.

The Sunday Mirror, which used to sell 1.1 million, was the main beneficiary as it sold more than two million last weekend, an increase on 1.9 million on the first weekend after its rival's closure.

Trinity Mirror's sister title The People has doubled circulation to 900,000.

Meanwhile, the Mail on Sunday jumped by half a million copies to 2.4 million.

All three titles have introduced temporary price cuts to boost sales. Mail on Sunday owner Daily Mail and General Trust, a minority owner of the Evening Standard, also confirmed today it is looking at launching a new Sunday tabloid at the populist end of the market.

Around 8.9 million Sunday papers were sold last weekend against nine million on the weekend before the News of the World's closure was announced.

Upmarket titles such as The Observer and Independent on Sunday also saw a small lift.

The News of the World used to sell 2.7 million.

DMGT chief executive Martin Morgan said his board has "received assurances that our titles have not used hacked material".

Third-quarter revenues rose 2% to £495 million.