Johannesburg - Weekend newspaper circulation has dropped just shy of 7.5 percent in the past year, according to a report released on Wednesday.
Combined circulation fell from 2 338 836 copies from July to September last year, to 2 163 784 copies this year, a decline of 175 052 copies, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations of SA's (ABC) third quarter report.
Rapport suffered the biggest decline, shedding 37 307 copies (16.9 percent) from a total circulation of 220 494 last year.
The circulation of the country's biggest selling weekend newspaper, The Sunday Times, shrank by 31 610 copies (seven percent), from 451 676 last year to 420 066 this year.
City Press's circulation dropped 10.4 percent, from 135 148 to 121 137, while the Saturday Beeld dropped 13.6 percent, from 69 109 to 59 690.
Of 28 weekend titles, only two increased their circulation: the Independent on Saturday, up from 43 780 to 44 141 (0.8 percent), and Isolezwe ngoMgqibelo, up from 73 187 copies to 78 772 (7.6percent).
The Sunday Sun's circulation decreased 11.2 percent, from 199 183 copies to 176 692, and The Sunday World shed 17.2 percent, from 141 260 to 116 875.
Daily newspaper circulation also declined, but not to the same degree.
Overall circulation dropped 5.8 percent, from 1 566 778 copies to 1 475 429.
The circulation of the Daily Sun, the country's top-selling daily newspaper, decreased 13.4 percent, from 336 319 copies to 291 132.
The Star's circulation declined 4.6 percent, from 105 686 to 100 805.
Others that lost circulation were The Citizen (8.9 percent), Die Beeld (8.2 percent), Die Burger (5.9 percent), The Business Day (8.3 percent), Cape Argus (6.7 percent), The Herald (4.9 percent), The Sowetan (two percent), and Die Son (8.4 percent).
Circulation also dropped at The Mercury (4.6 percent), The Witness (six percent), Pretoria News (10.6 percent) and Cape Times (six percent).
Circulation increased at only three dailies: The Times, Isolezwe, and The Daily Dispatch.
Sales of The Times increased from 140 078 copies to 143 957 (2.7 percent); Isolezwe from 107 628 to 108 484 (0.8 percent); and The Daily Dispatch from 26 390 to 26 501 (0.4 percent).
Weekly newspapers lost 53 328 copies (7.5 percent) of their overall circulation, dropping from 706 255 copies last year to 652 927 this year.
Soccer Laduma's circulation declined by 25 799 (7.1 percent), from 360 668 copies to 334 869, while The Mail&Guardian's decreased by 2158 (4.8 percent) from 44 400 last year to 42 242 this year.
Sapa