Scotland on Sunday
A Scottish Sunday newspaper published in Edinburgh and positioned as the Sunday sister title of The Scotsman.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Scotland on Sunday is a Scottish Sunday newspaper published in Edinburgh. It was launched on 7 August 1988 at an initial cover price of 40 pence and became part of the publishing group associated with The Scotsman, Edinburgh Evening News and other Scottish newspaper titles. The paper developed as a weekend publication combining Scottish, United Kingdom and international news with political reporting, analysis, features, sport, cultural coverage and magazine-style lifestyle material. The title has operated within a changing ownership structure. The Scotsman Publications group, which included Scotland on Sunday and The Scotsman, had earlier been associated with the Thomson newspaper interests. In 1995 the group was sold to the Barclay Brothers for £85 million. In December 2005, the Scotsman titles were acquired by Johnston Press in a transaction reported at £160 million. Johnston Press entered administration in November 2018, after which its assets were acquired by JPIMedia. The title subsequently became part of National World, the publishing company formed from JPIMedia's later corporate development. Scotland on Sunday originally used a broadsheet format. In 2013 it was relaunched as a tabloid, reflecting the broader shift in British newspaper publishing toward more compact formats and redesigned weekend products. After the relaunch, the publication was organized into three principal parts: the main newspaper, which retained the established Insight section; a sports section; and Spectrum magazine. Spectrum incorporated At Home, which had previously existed as a separate magazine component. The paper has served as a Sunday companion to The Scotsman, offering a weekend reading proposition rather than functioning only as a duplicate daily-news edition. Its editorial mix has included reporting and commentary on Scottish politics, public affairs, culture and society, together with sport and lifestyle coverage. The newspaper publicly backed a No vote in the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, placing its editorial position on one of the defining constitutional questions in modern Scottish politics. As a print and digital newspaper brand, Scotland on Sunday operates within the wider pressures affecting regional and national press: changing print habits, competition from online news, advertising shifts and consolidation among newspaper publishers. Its continuing identity is closely linked to The Scotsman stable and to National World's Scottish newspaper portfolio. Information about its present circulation, staffing, financial performance and detailed digital operations is not established in the supplied reference material.
History
Scotland on Sunday was launched on 7 August 1988 as a Scottish Sunday newspaper. Its introduction expanded the newspaper presence of the publishing interests associated with The Scotsman and gave Scottish readers a weekend title with its own editorial package. The paper initially appeared in broadsheet form and was priced at 40 pence at launch. The title's corporate history is connected to the wider ownership history of The Scotsman Publications group. That group had been acquired by Canadian newspaper proprietor Roy Thomson in 1953 and included The Scotsman, Edinburgh Evening News and a series of free newspaper titles serving parts of central Scotland. In 1995, the group was sold to the Barclay Brothers for £85 million. Under the new ownership, the group moved from its long-established offices on Edinburgh's North Bridge to premises on Holyrood Road. The former North Bridge building later became an upmarket hotel. In December 2005, Johnston Press bought the Scotsman Publications titles in a deal reported at £160 million. Scotland on Sunday consequently operated within one of the United Kingdom's significant regional newspaper groups. Johnston Press later experienced severe financial difficulties and entered administration in November 2018. Its assets, including the newspaper properties, were acquired by JPIMedia. A major product change occurred in 2013, when Scotland on Sunday was relaunched in tabloid format. The redesign replaced the traditional broadsheet presentation with a more compact physical product and reorganized the publication into three main parts. The principal newspaper retained the Insight section, while a dedicated sports section served weekend sports readers. Spectrum magazine provided lifestyle and feature material and incorporated At Home, which had previously been a separate magazine. Editorially, the newspaper has covered Scottish and British politics, public affairs, news, analysis, culture, arts, sport and lifestyle subjects. Its role has generally been complementary to that of The Scotsman: the two titles share a Scottish newspaper heritage, while Scotland on Sunday is designed around the pace and content expectations of weekend reading. The paper's political identity was particularly visible during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, when it supported a No vote. The newspaper has also been associated with a number of journalists and contributors. Brian Groom is identified as a former editor. Kenneth Roy worked as a television critic and sketch writer, while Andrew Crumey served as literary editor from 2000 to 2006. Iain Gale is identified as an art critic. These roles illustrate the publication's mixture of reporting, criticism and specialist weekend content. Following the restructuring of Johnston Press's assets and the subsequent development of JPIMedia into National World, Scotland on Sunday became part of National World's newspaper portfolio. It continues to be described as The Scotsman's Sunday sister title and as an Edinburgh-published Scottish Sunday newspaper. The supplied reference material does not establish current circulation, revenue, editor, employee numbers or the precise scope of its present digital publishing operations.
- 2018
Johnston Press administration and asset transfer
[1]Johnston Press entered administration, and its assets were acquired by JPIMedia.
- 2014
No endorsement in independence referendum
[1]The newspaper backed the No position in Scotland's independence referendum.
- 2013
Tabloid relaunch
[1]The newspaper was relaunched in tabloid format and reorganized into its main newspaper, sports section and Spectrum magazine components.
- 2005
Johnston Press acquisition
[1]Johnston Press acquired the Scotsman Publications titles, including Scotland on Sunday, in December 2005.
- 1995
Ownership transferred to the Barclay Brothers
[1]The publishing group was sold to the Barclay Brothers for £85 million.
- 1988
Scotland on Sunday launched
[1]The title was launched on 7 August 1988 as a Scottish Sunday newspaper priced at 40 pence.
- 1953
The Scotsman Publications group acquired by Roy Thomson
[1]The wider publishing group later associated with Scotland on Sunday was acquired by Canadian newspaper proprietor Roy Thomson.
Products and positioning
A Scottish weekend newspaper combining news, politics, analysis, sport, culture and lifestyle content, and serving as the Sunday sister title of The Scotsman.
Sunday newspaper · 1988
Scotland on Sunday
The core Sunday newspaper, covering Scottish, UK and international news alongside political reporting, analysis, features, culture and other weekend content. It began as a broadsheet and was relaunched as a tabloid in 2013. The main paper retained the Insight section after the redesign.
Sports journalism · 2013
Sports section
A dedicated sports component introduced as part of the post-2013 newspaper structure. It provides the publication's weekend sports offering, although the supplied references do not specify its current sport-by-sport editorial scope.
Weekend magazine · 2013
Spectrum
The magazine component of the relaunched newspaper. Spectrum combines feature and lifestyle material and incorporates At Home, which had previously been a separate magazine.
Lifestyle magazine
At Home
A lifestyle magazine that was incorporated into Spectrum following the 2013 relaunch. The available reference does not establish whether it continues as a separately branded product.
Brand decisions
2014
Editorial support for the No positionStrategyBackground
The Scottish independence referendum presented a major constitutional and political choice for Scotland.
Action taken
The newspaper endorsed a No vote in the referendum.
Aftermath
The endorsement made the newspaper's position on the independence question explicit. The supplied material does not provide further information about its effect on readership or commercial performance.
2013
Conversion from broadsheet to tabloidGeneration changeBackground
The newspaper operated in a traditional broadsheet format before a major redesign of its physical and editorial presentation.
Action taken
Scotland on Sunday was relaunched as a tabloid and reorganized into the main newspaper, a sports section and Spectrum magazine, with At Home incorporated into Spectrum.
Aftermath
The relaunch established the compact-format structure described in the reference material and aligned the title more closely with a magazine-supported weekend product.
Sources2 sources
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