Prices go up, demand goes down. Introduction to Economics, Page 3...
The Sunday Times is nursing a price-rise hangover of around 10% of it's readership. This is after it raised it's prices by a 1/9 . That's a pretty even trade-off. For the money men, the numbers show, well, something. In December 2005, the paper cost £1.60 ( the first price rise occurred in February, up from £1.60 to £1.80.) Circulation was around 1,300,000. (Rounded for meagre brain-maths.)
Money from circulation... 1300000 * 1.6 = £2080000
Last December's circulation was taken at £2 per copy. 1200000 * 2 = £2400000
The change in cover price profit is £320,000.
That's a middle-of-the-road townhouse for John Witherow, no?
Big sale numbers bring in the advertisers, yet the Sunday Times readership remains around equal to the sum of the rest of the quality sundays.
There is still no competition for audience penetration of a certain reader type that you simply won't get with the News Of The World.