Commentary

123 Million Americans Reading Newspapers On The Web

 According to a new comScore release, more than 123 million Americans visited newspaper sites in May, representing 57% of the total U.S. Internet audience, as the New York Times Brand led the category with more than 32 million visitors and 719 million pages viewed during the month. The average visitor viewed 22 pages of content on the New York Times. Tribune Newspapers ranked second in terms of audience with 24.8 million visitors, followed by Advance Internet and USA Today Sites.

Top Newspaper Groups (May 2010 Total U.S. Home & Work Locations)

 

Total Unique Visitors (000)

Total Pages Viewed (MM)

Average Pages per Visitor

Total Internet Audience

215,691

592,519

2,747

Newspapers

123,897

5,339

43

   The New York Times Brand

32,530

719

22

   Tribune Newspapers

24,753

359

14

   Advance Internet

18,053

326

18

   USA Today Sites

16,771

154

9

   WashingtonPost.com

16,677

178

11

   McClatchy Corporation

13,987

216

15

   MediaNews Group

13,362

141

11

   NYDailyNews.com

12,502

122

10

   Hearst Newspapers

12,017

195

16

   Wall Street Journal Online

11,325

115

10

Source: comScore Media Metrix , June 2010

Jeff Hackett, comScore senior vice president, said "... even as print circulation declines, Americans are actually consuming as much news as ever... it's just being consumed across more media," said. "The Internet has become an essential channel in the way the majority of Americans consume news content today... 3 out of 5 Internet users read newspapers online each month... as advertising rates for digital move closer... (to) traditional media, the economics of the news business... look(s) a lot more promising."

The study shows that among the top site categories where display ads appeared in April 2010, online newspapers accounted for 2.4% of impressions but a higher 6.7% of display advertising dollars. The average cost per thousand impressions (CPM) on online newspaper sites was $7, higher than each of the other top site categories and nearly three times the average CPM for the total U.S. Internet at $2.52.

Top Display Advertising Site Categories (April 2010 Total U.S. Home & Work Locations)

Publisher

Total Display Ad Impressions (MM)

Share of Impressions

Estimated Spending ($ 000)

Cost per Thousand Impressions (CPM)

Total Internet Audience

354,636

100.0%

893,681

$2.52

Social Networking

98,176

27.7%

54,684

$0.56

Portals

69,664

19.6%

181,266

$2.60

Entertainment

38,104

10.7%

181,147

$4.75

e-mail

34,327

9.7%

32,370

$0.94

Community

15,884

4.5%

33,435

$2.10

General News

12,542

3.5%

77,055

$6.14

Sports

10,850

3.1%

68,214

$6.29

Newspapers

8,506

2.4%

59,441

$6.99

Online Gaming

7,929

2.2%

21,234

$2.68

Photos

7,391

2.1%

7,953

$1.08

Source: comScore Ad Metrix, June 2010

The report says that comScore research conducted last year for the Online Publishers Association showed that visitors who are exposed to display ads on news sites are more likely than average to visit the advertiser website, are heavier online buyers and tend to have higher household income.

"Online newspapers represent premium inventory for advertisers... " added Hackett. "

In particular, online newspapers have demonstrated significantly faster adoption of the new OPA ad units, concludes the report. While these units currently account for just 0.06 percent of all display ads delivered online in the U.S., they account for 0.43 percent of ads on newspaper sites, or seven times higher than average. Notably, the Fixed Panel 336 x 860 unit is the most popular unit being used on newspaper sites among the new OPA units at a rate 35 times higher than average.

For additional information from comScore, please visit here.

  

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