Print newspaper readership is being further hit by digital, which according to latest figures has increased its audience numbers by three per cent in the last 12 months. New Enhanced Media Metrics Australia (emma) monthly data says nine in ten consumers aged over 14 have read newspaper content in print or digital formats in the last 12 months ending July 2015.
Figures show some 13.8 million consumers read a newspaper in the last four weeks mostly thanks to metro publications. However, readership figures for the national newspaper The Australian dropped from 2.9 million in a four week period ending July 2014, to 2.8 million. The metropolitan papers struggled to maintain their readers interested with Sydney’s tabloid the Daily Telegraph falling from 4.3 million to 3.99 million. Its sister paper in Melbourne, the Herald Sun, faced a similar story declining from 4.1 million readers down to 3.74 million. Sydney Morning Herald slumped from 5.07 million readers down to 4.75 million people reading its papers, and The Age fell from 3.05 million to 2.82 million. But it’s not all doom and gloom as national newspaper the Australian Financial Review increased its audience numbers to 1.36 million from last year’s 1.35 million. Local newspaper readership also remained strong, with regional newspapers drawing an audience of 3.2 million and suburban titles attracting five million readers. Mobile readership rose unabatedly, growing 18 per cent (up 476,000) year-on-year to now reach 3.1 million over a four-week period. Further analysis of emma data shows that mobile newspaper content is particularly popular among some key consumer segments, including: One in three high earners with a salary $120,000+ per year accessed newspaper journalism on their mobile phone in the last four weeks. One in five consumers responsible for managing their household budget read newspaper content on their phone in the past month. Online shoppers are 26 per cent more likely to read a newspaper on their mobile than the general population. Mark Hollands, The Newspaper Works CEO, says: “The continued growth in mobile audience illustrates that the influence of newspaper journalism is transcending traditional media channels. “The quality of this audience is an important facet of the value newspaper media brings to advertisers. “Print media remains the most popular form of consumption of news publisher content, but it is clear that mobile – especially on social media – is becoming an increasingly vital part of the distribution of news and engagement with our readers.”
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