Stop The Presses: Readers Of E-Editions Are Avid Online Users -- And They Still Use Print

They're some of the most avid users of online media and they also account for some of the Web's most desirable demographics, but what makes this user segment so unique is they're using the Internet to access print media - specifically, electronic editions of newspapers and magazines.

In a first of its kind study released Monday by Nielsen//NetRatings, users of so-called e-editions of print publications are shown to be more affluent, better educated and heavier users of the Internet than the average online user. The findings could be a boon for digital publishers such as Newsstand and Zinio, which have been pioneering the field of digital magazines and newspapers, in part, because they believe advertisers might eventually follow.

"The first thing they want to know is, who are your readers," acknowledged Michele Chaboudy, chief marketing officer of Newsstand, which commissioned Nielsen//NetRatings to conduct the research among its users.

What it found, was that they skew significantly more upscale than average online users. For example, 45 percent have a post-graduate degree, which is 90 percent higher than the average. They make $25,000 to $26,000 more per year than the average online user. And nearly half (44 percent) are international readers.

But perhaps most significantly, these e-edition readers tend to be especially responsive to advertising. Perhaps its is a throwback to the ad-glutted nature of print media vehicles, but 43 percent of Newsstand subscribers found out about them through online advertising, 26 percent through print ads.

The data also reflects positively on digital delivery as a supplement to a publication's consumer base without cannibalizing on readership to other editions. Nearly two thirds (60 percent) of Web site users retained their regular usage of the Internet versions after subscribing, while 58 percent of print newspaper and newsletter subscribers also retained their regular usage of those media.

"It just shows how people can multitask," noted Newsstand's Chaboudy.

Interestingly for publishers, the medium usage effect in each of the above mediums revealed comparable increases and decreases. Twenty-three percent of Web site users increased their usage as a result of subscribing to Newsstand, while17 percent showed a decrease. Print newspapers and newsletters revealed the highest readership decrease at 28 percent, but readership also went up 13 percent as a result of subscribing to Newsstand.

The study also found that such e-edition subscribers tend to be especially voracious users. "It's almost double;," said Chaboudy. "Ninety percent of our users are online every day versus 45 percent of the average Internet user."

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