Times Posts Strong Gains in the County : Newspaper: An audit shows a three-year growth rate of 16.6% in daily circulation and 38% on Sundays. Six-month figures rise from same period last year.

The Orange County Edition of The Times continued to report strong circulation gains in the past six months, recording a three-year growth rate of 16.6% in daily circulation and 38% on Sundays.

The latest numbers released Wednesday by the Audit Bureau of Circulation show that daily circulation in Orange County was 194,368 for the six months ended March 31. That is up 9,720 papers--or 5.3%--from the same period a year ago. On Sundays, circulation was up 25,207--or 9.6%--to a total of 287,682.

Overall, the Los Angeles Times lost circulation during the period. Total circulation fell 6.3% on weekdays, to 1,164,388 papers, and 2.8% on Sundays, to 1,531,527.

Publisher David Laventhol said the declines were a result of planned circulation cutbacks outside the primary Southern California market, the elimination of the P.M. Final Edition, price increases and the imposition of a sales tax on California newspapers, as well as a circulation falloff after last year’s Gulf War.

In Orange County, the price of The Times did not increase, mainly because of competitive pressures in its circulation battle with the Orange County Register.

Register General Manager Richard Wallace said his newspaper’s figures will be released when the ABC comes out with its own report, which is expected next week.

The Times Orange County has made significant strides on Sunday since it introduced a glossy new TV Times with customized cable TV listings in March, 1990. Since then, 49,750 subscribers from six cable franchises have subscribed to The Times, said Lisa Thomas, market development manager at The Times Orange County.

The Times has also significantly expanded its local news coverage since 1989. “Clearly the No. 1 thing is that more and more, people are seeing The Times Orange County as a product that meets their needs,” said Bill Furlow, marketing director for The Times Orange County.