While the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) figures show a less than favourable story for newspapers, Australian publishers arn't phased as Fairfax and News both agree that readership is a much more bankable data set for their businesses.
A News Corp Australia spokesman said that while the latest ABC data shows the publisher is outperforming its competitors in print, the publisher believes that readership metric Emma, which is funded by Australian newspaper publishers is a much better measure of media consumption.
“Last week’s release of the Emma data shows that our total readership continues to grow solidly, with 4.7% growth compared to a year ago," a News Corp spokesperson said.
“Across print and digital, News Corp Australia now reaches almost 15.1 million Australians each month, which is 85% of the adult Australian population.
“While the best measure of Australia’s media consumption is readership, circulation data is still one area of focus for the company."
A statement from Fairfax reiterated then sentiments of News Corp citing that: “circulation data only shows part of the picture of the reach of our print and digital mastheads.”
“The September 2014 Emma results show the strength of Fairfax Media publications in cross platform audience readership and reach. The Sydney Morning Herald remains the number one news brand on total masthead readership reaching 5.5 million people (up 14% YOY) and has the largest audience on mobile and tablet platforms, with 1.2 million people (up 7%).”
However, the Fairfax spokesperson did highlight that total masthead sales were up year-on-year for both The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age according to the latest ABC data.
“The Sydney Morning Herald was stable and The Age was up (+1.9%). On Sunday, The Sun-Herald was down (-6.8%) whilst The Age was stable.”
“Fairfax Media’s print circulation is more profitable than ever. Profitable circulation and Fairfax’s fiercely independent journalism and content, ensures that the print editions of the mastheads continue to contribute to the growth and engagement of Fairfax’s audience.”
Maxus Melbourne boss Nick Keenan said he wasn't surprised at all about the ABC figures and said dwindling newspaper circulations have been talked to death by the industry.
“The trends are all kind of what we expect but I think one of the key things for newspapers is for some really specialised advertisers it is still a very strong medium and increasingly we recommend it on a number of campaigns,” Keenan said.
While news organisations have been making the move into digital, Keenan said the differing cost structures and the size of digital ecosystems are making it a far more competitive space to play in.
Where he sees news organisations building revenue going forward will be native content, particularly with the advent of programmatic native.
“We're going to see a lot more of native content. It's where there is a real opportunity for publishers to work with agencies and advertisers to generate a really good product and a new revenue model,” Keenan said.
“There is an opportunity to work with agency partners on programmatic native to build that scale and therefore build that revenue model.”
For more news see below:
Facebook brings ad preferences to Australia
Ten up front in its intentions
Zoo Weekly leads the charge in weekly magazine declines
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at sarahhomewood@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day. Need a job? Visit adnewsjobs.com.au.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.