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Sunday Sport

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For the RTÉ Radio 1 programme, see Weekend Sport.

Sunday Sport
A 2021 example of the tabloid's satirical headlines
TypeSunday newspaper
FormatTabloid
Owner(s)David Sullivan
PublisherSunday Sport (2011) Ltd[1]
(original publisher Sport Newspapers)
EditorNick Appleyard
Founded1986
Political alignmentNone (yellow journalism)
HeadquartersCity View House 5 Union Street, Ardwick, Manchester, M12 4JD, United Kingdom
CirculationN/A [a]
Websitesundaysportonline.co.uk

The Sunday Sport is a British tabloid newspaper that was founded by David Sullivan in 1986. It mainly publishes images of topless female glamour models, and is well-known for publishing sensationalised, fictionalised, and satirical content, alongside celebrity gossip and sports coverage. It has changed from including legitimate journalism throughout its history.[3] A sister title, the Daily Sport, was published from 1991 to 2011, when it ceased publication and went online-only, under separate ownership.[4]

Currently as of January 2024, the tabloid publishes three times a week as the Sunday Sport (Sundays), the Midweek Sport (Wednesdays), and the Weekend Sport (Fridays). The tabloid was previously available in mainstream retailers such as Tesco and The Co-op. However following the decline of Lads' mags and Page 3 from the late 2000s, it has since only become available in independent newsagents, and remains the only remaining British tabloid to feature glamour models and nudity.[5][6]

History

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Founded by David Sullivan, the Sunday Sport first appeared on newsstands on 14 September 1986.[7] It quickly became known for its outlandish and farcical content, with headlines such as "Adolf Hitler Was A Woman", "Aliens Turned Our Son Into A Fish Finger", and "Donkey Robs Bank".[8] Its editors have included Michael Gabbert, Tony Livesey, Paul Carter, and Nick Appleyard. A sister daily title, the Daily Sport, launched in 1991. Livesey's 1998 book Babes, Booze, Orgies and Aliens: The Inside Story of Sport Newspapers offers an insider's perspective on the tabloid's first decade.

The Sunday Sport capitalised on the popularity of The Sun's Page 3 feature by making sexualised content its primary focus. Topless glamour models were printed across multiple pages and a "nipple count" was published to highlight how many exposed breasts the issue featured.[9] The tabloid courted controversy by featuring 15-year-old aspiring glamour models in scantily clad poses, counting down the days until it could legally show them topless on their 16th birthdays, as it did with Linsey Dawn McKenzie and Hannah Claydon,[10] among others.

The Sunday Sport's circulation reached an all-time high of 167,473 in 2005,[11] and Sullivan sold his Sunday Sport and Daily Sport titles in 2007 for £40 million.[12] Circulation declined markedly thereafter, with the new owner, Sport Media Group, withdrawing the titles from the newspaper industry's monthly circulation audit in 2009. In the same year, Sullivan stepped in to save Sport Media Group with a £1.68 million loan. The company entered administration on 1 April 2011, at which point publisher Richard Desmond refused to continue printing the titles because of outstanding debts.[13][14][15] The Sunday Sport returned to newsstands several weeks later on 8 May 2011, after Sullivan reacquired it for £50,000.[15] The Daily Sport was sold off separately to Grant Miller.[16]

Sullivan's new company, Sunday Sport (2011) Limited, continued to publish the Sunday Sport as a single weekly title until 2013, when it added a Wednesday edition, the Midweek Sport.[1] The paper currently[as of?] appears three times a week as the Sunday Sport (Sundays), the Midweek Sport (Wednesdays), and the Weekend Sport (Fridays).

Controversies

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The tabloid contains extensive advertising for sexual services, mainly adult telephone chat lines.[17] In 2016, the Advertising Standards Authority banned sexually explicit advertisements for chat lines from the back page of the Sunday Sport over concerns that children could easily see them.[18]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ No longer registered with the ABC[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b James Robinson; Mark Sweney (10 August 2011). "David Sullivan could launch Friday edition of Daily Sport guardian.co.uk". Guardian. UK. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  2. ^ "Sunday Sport - Data - Audit Bureau of Circulations".
  3. ^ "R.I.P. Daily and Sunday Sport". BBC News. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  4. ^ flavellflave. "Flave interviews Daily Sport owner Grant Miller and his ring girls". Boxing Evolution. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  5. ^ Turvill, William (3 September 2019). "Co-op ditches Sunday Sport and lads' mags as modesty bag deadline passes". Press Gazette. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  6. ^ "The pornification of Britain's high streets: why enough is enough". The Guardian. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  7. ^ Di Hand; Steve Middleditch (2014). Design for Media: A Handbook for Students and Professionals in Journalism, PR, and Advertising. Routledge. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-317-86402-8.
  8. ^ "You couldn't make it up: 'Sport' editor quits for BBC". The Independent. 22 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  9. ^ Baxter, Steven (4 April 2011). "Farewell to the unloveliest newspaper". New Statesman.
  10. ^ "Page Three: the naked truth about fame game". Belfast News Letter. 17 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Daily Sport and Sunday Sport owner in administration". BBC News. 1 April 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  12. ^ "David Sullivan sells stake in Sport titles for £40m". The Guardian. 8 August 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  13. ^ Burrell, Ian (1 April 2011). "A headline you can believe: The 'Sport' closes". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  14. ^ McNally, Paul (1 April 2011). "Daily Sport ceases publication and calls in administrators". Press Gazette. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  15. ^ a b Sweney, Mark (4 June 2011). "David Sullivan paid just £50,000 for Sunday Sport". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  16. ^ "Daily Sport launches 'The Bet' for all wagering audiences". SBC News. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  17. ^ Jackson, Jasper (21 September 2016). "Sexually explicit Sunday Sport ads banned despite 'censorship' claim". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  18. ^ "Sexually explicit Sunday Sport ads banned despite 'censorship' claim". The Guardian. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
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