Sun on Sunday sells 3m copies according to Murdoch tweet
THE Sun on Sunday, the new tabloid from the News International stable, sold 3m copies on its debut yesterday, according to Rupert Murdoch.
Murdoch took to microblogging website Twitter to reveal that sales of the title had topped the company’s expectations.
He said: “Reports early, but new Sun edition sold 3m!”
Last week Murdoch said he would be “very happy” if the title, which cost 50p at launch, were to sell more than 2m copies on its first day in circulation.
A News International spokesperson said a positive response had been received from retailers, with many selling out of the new tabloid.
Rupert Murdoch announced on 17 February he would launch the new tabloid after nine Sun journalists were arrested in the preceding few weeks.
The News of the World closed in July 2011 in the wake of the phone hacking scandal, despite having 2.67m regular readers. Some took up the Sunday Mirror, the Daily Star Sunday or the People, but 1.3m seem not to have latched onto another newspaper, leaving a solid market for the Sun’s Sunday version. The Sun sells 2.75m copies a day during the week, and about 2.85m on Saturdays.