Circulation decline slows

The decline in printed newspaper circulations in Australia slowed in the July to September 2011 quarter, despite continued testing retail conditions and shifting consumer confidence. 

Monday to Saturday sales of national, metropolitan and regional printed newspapers eased 3.5% in the three months to September 30, 2011 compared to the corresponding period in 2010, according to figures released today by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC). This compared to a fall of 4.2% in the previous quarter.

PwC estimates that Australians still spend $1.3 billion annually purchasing more than 19 million newspapers a week.*

The Newspaper Works CEO Tony Hale said the circulation results were satisfactory given the retail and consumer climate and that newspaper mastheads continued their march into digital editions and apps which were reaching and engaging with more consumers than ever before. 

“The printed newspaper circulation figures were broadly in line with our expectations, and are a solid result in continued trying retail conditions. However, the ABC printed newspaper figures only tell part of the story because smartphone and tablet newspaper apps are not yet measured. There’s no doubt that newspaper audiences are expanding and newspaper content is being delivered how, when and where consumers want it and it’s working,” Hale added.

“During this audit period The Australian revealed its ‘freemium’ model, Fairfax has said that over 200,000 apps have been downloaded for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, while in the last 10 months publishers have actively launched new and exciting native apps that provide a truly enhanced reader experience online. 

“We estimate that more than three million newspaper-branded apps have already been downloaded to tablets and smartphones in the past year,” Hale said.

He added that for the first time in the latest quarter, publishers had started voluntarily reporting day of week sales. This follows an agreement reached in March this year between publishers and advertisers that newspapers would begin reporting day of week sales, bringing Monday to Friday reporting in line with reporting on weekend sales.

Reporting day of week sales will become mandatory as from the January to March quarter 2012. 

“The reporting of day of week sales is a clear indication of the newspaper industry’s willingness to provide advertisers and other stakeholders with greater transparency,” Hale said.

*Source: PwC Outlook Australian Entertainment & Media 2011-2015.

(NB: The Audit Bureau of Circulations is establishing new rules to determine how both print and paid digital sales will be audited.) 

See full circulation data below. 

November 2011