New circulation numbers suggest the Toronto Sun is the paper losing the most circulation ground in the hotly contested Toronto newspaper market, according to a Globe and Mail story.

An excerpt:

The Toronto Sun saw its circulation decline in the year ended Sept. 30, as the paper lost ground against its rivals in Canada's biggest city.

Numbers released yesterday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations show the Sun distributed 201,275 papers on a average weekday, down 2 per cent from the same period a year earlier. The paper's Saturday circulation fell 6 per cent to 164,419, while Sunday circulation dropped 5 per cent to 344,120.

The Sun's circulation drop contrasted with stable numbers released Friday for the other three major papers in the Toronto market. The Sun's audited numbers were delayed because the paper did not sign off on time for last week's release of the other audit bureau numbers.

Here are the numbers for the other T.O. dailies:

Toronto Star: 455k/day during weekdays.

The Globe and Mail: 316k/day during weekdays; 132k/day in T.O.

National Post: 249k/day during weekdays; 88k/day in T.O.

What does the Sun have to say about this?

Sun publisher Neil Fowler said his paper's numbers are "not out of line" with competitors because it has not been increasing bulk and cut-price sales as much as its rivals. The Sun also has "plenty of plans in play" to improve the paper, he said.

Here's the Toronto Star's take. Pretty much the same thing, leading with the Sun's decline.

It also had more information than the Globe story on weekend circulation.

This was interesting:

The Toronto Star's Sunday edition posted the largest single-category increase among Canada's largest English dailies. The Sunday Star, which was recently redesigned, recorded paid circulation of 446,856, up 3.4 per cent.

However, the new Sunday "maga-paper" only launched on Jan. 16. This survey was for a 12-month period that ended September 2004.  If the Star's old Sunday  paper recorded that type of growth, was it really broken? (To see my thoughts on the new Sunday Star, click here)

What a difference a day makes. The Saturday Star, its biggest paper of the week, was down one per cent, but still sold 656,000 copies and change.