ABC was first published inMadrid on 1 January 1903[1][2] byTorcuato Luca de Tena y Álvarez-Ossorio.[3][4] The founding publishing house was Prensa Española, which was led by the founder of the paper, Luca de Tena.[4] The paper started as aweekly newspaper, turning daily in June 1905.[5] In 1928 ABC had two editions, one for Madrid and the other forSeville.[4][6] The latter was namedABC de Sevilla.[4]
On 20 July 1936, shortly after theSpanish Civil War began,ABC in Madrid was seized by the republican government, which changed the paper's politics to support theRepublicans. The same yearBlanco y Negro, a magazine, became itssupplement.[7] TheABC printed in Seville was supportive of theNationalists. In 1939ABC inMadrid was given back to its original owners byFrancisco Franco.[3] During this period the paper was one of two major dailies in the country together withLa Vanguardia Española.[2]
ABC is known for generally supportingconservative political views,[13] and defending theSpanish monarchy.[14] The paper also has aright-wing stance.[15] Its director since 1983,Luis María Ansón, left the paper in 1997;[9] he founded another daily,La Razón, which initially catered to even more conservative readers. Historically, it was noted in its heavy use of photography, and the front page is typically a large photo taking up to one third of the area. It has been recognized for its coverage of Spanish culture and arts.[3]
On 25 September 2009,ABC made its complete archives, dating back to 1903, available online, giving modern readers a chance to see contemporaneous news about the Spanish Civil War orFrancisco Franco's death.
In February 1970ABC had a circulation of 212,536 copies.[16] It was 178,979 copies in February 1975,[16] 171,382 copies in 1976, 145,162 copies in 1977. and 126,952 copies in 1978.[1] The circulation of the paper was 135,380 copies in February 1980.[16]
The 1993 circulation ofABC was 334,317 copies, making it the second-best-selling newspaper in Spain.[17][18] In 1994. it was again the second-best-selling newspaper in the country with a circulation of 321,571 copies.[18][19] In the period of 1995–1996 the paper had a circulation of 321,573 copies, making again it the second-best-selling paper in the country.[20]
The circulation ofABC was 292,000 copies in 2001[21] and 262,874 copies in 2002.[12] The paper had a circulation of 263,000 copies in 2003, being the fourth best-selling newspaper in the country.[22][23] Based on the findings of the European Business Readership SurveyABC had 5,685 readers per issue in 2006.[24] Between June 2006 and July 2007 the daily had a circulation of 230,422 copies.[5] The 2008 circulation of the paper was 228,258 copies.[25] It was 243,154 copies between July 2010 and June 2011.[26]
^abc"ABC".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. I: A-Ak - Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2010. p. 14.ISBN978-1-59339-837-8.
^abcdJacob Fox Watkins (2014). "Not Just 'Franco 's Spain' – The Spanish Political Landscape During Re-Emergence Through the Pact of Madrid".Bulletin for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies.39 (1).doi:10.26431/0739-182X.1167 (inactive 11 July 2025).ISSN0739-182X.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
^Richard Gunther; Jose Ramon Montero; Jose Ignacio Wert (2000)."The media and politics in Spain". In Richard Gunther; Anthony Mughan (eds.).Democracy and the Media: A Comparative Perspective. Cambridge University Press.ISBN9780521777438. Retrieved27 November 2014.
^ab"Facts of Spain". Florida International University. Archived fromthe original on 21 June 2013. Retrieved23 February 2015.
^Alvarez, Jose L.; Mazza, Carmelo; Mur, Jordi (October 1999)."The management publishing industry in Europe"(PDF).IESE Occasional Papers.99 (4). University of Navarra. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 30 June 2010. Retrieved27 April 2015.
