• by Erik Sass , April 23, 2010

Acknowledging the growing number of readers who interact with newspaper content via mobile devices, the Audit Bureau of Circulations said its interactive unit, ABCi, is set to begin measuring newspapers' mobile audiences, including readership on e-readers, through mobile Web browsers, and through free and paid apps on smartphones and Apple's new iPad.

ABCi is undertaking the mobile measurement initiative in partnership with Verve Wireless, according to ABC President Michael Lavery.

Lavery explained: "With all the buzz around the iPad, and with use of mobile browsers exploding, newspapers and their advertisers are increasingly interested in seeing mobile metrics detailed in ABC reports."

However, it would appear that the audits will be limited, at least initially, to newspapers which use Verve's publishing platform -- totaling about 600 in North America and Europe. Verve publishing clients will have the option of including a variety of detailed mobile audience data -- including the types of device, times of day, and familiar online metrics -- like page views and unique visitors -- for their mobile audiences in ABC's Consolidated Media Report.

CMR is a relatively new product introduced by ABC to detail newspapers' multimedia audiences.

Verve said the mobile audience for news and information increased over 240% from March 2009-March 2010, growing to a total of 9 million unique visitors that viewed 160 million pages last month. Mobile ad revenues have grown at a steady rate of 30% per month since November, the company said. Looking ahead, Verve predicts it will deliver a total 2.2 billion page views in 2010.

Separately, a new report from Borrell Associates predicts that mobile advertising and marketing will grow to become a $54 billion market in the U.S. by 2014, representing a cumulative annual growth rate of 84% over the next four years.