Media
Australian newspaper sales decline as consumer sentiment softens
Australian newspaper sales declined in the June 2010 quarter, in what was a challenging period for the retail sector and sales of consumables in general.
Monday to Sunday metropolitan newspaper sales fell by 2.5 per cent in the three months ending June 30, 2010, compared with the corresponding period in 2009 according to figures released today by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
The Newspaper Works CEO Tony Hale said while any decline in circulation was disappointing, Australians continue to buy more than 20 million newspapers every week, despite shifts in the media landscape that are giving consumers far more choice.
“Newspapers play a highly relevant role in consumers’ lives,†Hale said. “The circulation results are in line with our expectations given the tough retail environment. It has impacted us just like it has impacted other paid media, but the five year trend remains relatively stable.â€
Hale added: “Newspaper mastheads continue to be strong business drivers for all the publishers and the advent of online, smart phones, iPads and eReaders means that newspapers now reach more people than ever before and we are taking advantage of that.
Today, newspapers are true multiplatform brands.â€
In just five months, for example, Australians have downloaded more than 331,000 newspaper brand apps.*
Australian newspapers also continue to outperform their US and UK counterparts.
In the UK, circulation of national dailies has fallen by 6 per cent, while national Sundays were down 7 per cent in the six months to June 2010**. In the US, sales of weekday newspapers in the six months to March 2010 dropped by 9 per cent, while Sundays were down 7 per cent***.
“Australian newspapers are holding up well on any measure,,†Hale said.
Click here to see full circulation data
Sources:
* Combined downloads for iPhone and iPad devices as at June 30, 2010 sourced from publishers
** Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK), circulation of national daily newspapers for the six months to June 30, 2010
*** Audit Bureau of Circulations (US), circulation of weekday newspapers for the six months to March 31, 2010
For more information, please contact:
Tony Hale
The Newspaper Works
T: (02) 9692 6300
Rochelle Burbury
Access PR
T: (02) 9279 4799
M: 0408 774 577
E: rochelle@accesspr.com.au
About The Newspaper Works
The Newspaper Works is a not-for-profit body established to promote the newspaper industry in Australia. The Newspaper Works was founded in 2006 by Fairfax Media/Rural Press, News Ltd, APN News & Media and West Australian Newspapers to pursue a number of industry objectives including to promote newspapers as a powerful and influential medium for advertisers, to promote the purchase of newspapers as an essential source of news and to modernise the perceptions of newspapers and the newspaper industry. The Newspaper Works also provides research, marketing tools and other support necessary to promote the value of newspapers to key target audiences.