According to the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), between 2005 and 2009 newspapers' total print ad revenues dropped 47.7% from $47.4 billion to $24.8 billion, while their online revenues
edged up from $2.02 billion to $2.73 billion over the same period.
In the last year's fourth quarter, newspaper websites drew an average monthly audience of 105.3 million unique visitors, 62%
of all adult Internet users. Newspaper websites continue to attract key demographics, reaching 58% of 25-to-34-year-olds and 73% of individuals in households earning more than $100,000 a year on
average throughout the quarter, shows the analysis performed by comScore for the Newspaper Association of America.
The findings also pointed toward audience engagement, with newspaper website
visitors generating an average of 4.1 billion page views each month, spending nearly 3.4 billion minutes browsing the sites.
NAA President and CEO John F. Sturm, says "Newspaper websites
stand out in today's online environment, with trusted brands and high-quality journalism attracting an impressive audience that sets them apart from other players in the digital space... digital
is at the forefront of a multiplatform transition that has seen steady growth in online advertising revenue... "
Figures released by NAA in early December indicate that online advertising
generated $690 million for newspapers in last year's third quarter, a nearly 11% increase from the same period a year earlier.
Online Newspaper Advertising (4th Quarter, 2010) |
| Month Unique Visitors (000) 18+ | % Reach | Total Minutes (MM) | Total Pages Viewed (MM) |
October | 105,250 | 61.8% | 3,238 | 3,992 |
November | 106,270 | 62.9 | 3,416 | 4,180 |
December | 103,903 | 61.3 | 3,496 | 4,126 |
Q4 Average | 105,291 | 62.0 | 33,83 | 4,099 |
Source: comScore, January 2011
|
And, the latest data from Scarborough Research shows that more than 71% of adults, or 165.6 million people, read a newspaper in print or online in the
last week. The latest data, considered a currency measurement in the media planning and buying community, indicates that newspapers continue to attract consumers with buying power, with 80% of adults
in households earning $100,000 or more reading a newspaper in print or online each week.
The Scarborough report indicates that newspapers continue to attract highly educated consumers who are
ready to shop and spend. In an average week:
- 85% of adults who have done post-graduate work or who have advanced degrees read a print newspaper or visited a newspaper website
- 81%
of women in a management or professional position with a household income of $100,000 a year or more read a newspaper in print or online; 73% read the print product
- 76% of adults who spent
more than $500 on fine jewelry in the last year read a newspaper in print or online
- 80% of adults who spent $500 or more on business clothing, the figure is
- 77% for those who spent
more than $500 on women's shoes read a newspaper in print or online
Full-time working women who shop read newspapers in large numbers. A high percentage of those who bought
at the following stores in the last 30 days read a newspaper in print or online last week:
- JC Penney (75%)
- Lord & Taylor (87%)
- Macy's (77%)
- Nieman
Marcus (76%)
- Nordstrom (78%)
- Kohl's (76%)
- Target (75%)
- TJ Maxx (76%)
- Wal-Mart (74%)
Sturm concludes that "... while
the way readers access newspaper content continues to evolve, one thing has remained remarkably consistent: Dollar for dollar, newspapers offer unmatched value to advertisers by attracting a powerful
consumer audience that no other medium can match... "
For more information about the comScore report, please visit here,
and to see the Scarborough study data,
please visit here.