• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, August 1, 2007

In a finding that could transform the way advertisers think of the relationship between magazines and the Internet, new research reveals that there is relatively little cannibalization between printed magazines and their Web sites, and that much of their audience is "net," or unduplicated reach. The finding is made possible by a new collaboration of magazine audience researcher Mediamark Research Inc. and online audience researcher Nielsen//NetRatings. The research, which fuses, or directly integrates the databases of the two companies to create the equivalent of a single source, is one of an influx of new applications in data integration and so-called fusion that are transforming the art of media planning and buying (see related story in today's edition).

Dubbed Net//MRI, the new product seems to give top billing to NetRatings, but also is an allusion to its result: the "net" audience that is pure to the print and online editions of magazines. What it shows is that on average, 83% of the visitors of the Web sites of 23 large circulation monthly magazine accessed those magazines' content exclusively online.

The companies did not disclose what percentage of the print editions' audiences accessed the magazine content exclusively in print, but they did say that there was a considerable range among the Web-only percentages of individual magazine titles - from 65% to 96% - highlighting the need for this new form of research.

The data also revealed differing usage patterns and characteristics based on the demographics of users. Male visitors to online magazine sites were more likely than female visitors to read only the online version, though there was relatively little difference between older and younger visitors (see data below).

Magazine Web Site Visitors Who Access Magazine Content Online Only
Total Adults	83%
Men	90%
Women	83%
Persons 18-44	82%
Persons 45+	85%
Source: MRI, Nielsen//NetRatings's Net//MRI. Base = May 2007 visitors to 23 Web sites affiliates with 23 large circulation monthly magazines.