August 13, 2015

 3 Million Adults in Ireland read their news in print, on a mobile, desktop or tablet

• 4 in 5 adults read newspapers regularly
• Daily print readers spend 40 minutes reading, Sunday print readers spend 56 minutes
• Online daily readership increased by 27% per cent year-on-year

 

Almost 3 million adults in Ireland regularly read their news in print, on a mobile, a desktop or tablet according to the Joint National Readership Survey (JNRS) 2014/2015. 720,000 people accessed newspaper titles online, a significant increase of 155,000 readers (27%) on the previous year.

Meanwhile, print readership has remained relatively consistent and, in fact, the research found a high cross over in readership between print and online, with 7 in 10 online newspaper readers also reading a printed product.

Time Spent Reading

The research also revealed some interesting data on time spent reading.  The print reader spends 40 minutes each day with their daily newspaper and 56 minutes on Sunday, whilst online readers prefer to dip in and out spending an average 20 minutes per day.

The Chairman of NewsBrands Ireland, Vincent Crowley welcomed the readership figures and the interesting insight into the print and digital reader.  “The world is saturated with content and the way people choose to read news content continues to evolve.  It is interesting that 7 in 10 online newspaper readers also read a printed product.

“NewsBrands offer multi-platform trusted news content to our millions of readers giving them the option to access breaking news and story updates throughout the day online or on mobile and also to delve deeper for more detailed opinion and analysis, prepared by outstanding journalists. The research shows that our readers clearly invest time engaging with the product and this provides the perfect backdrop for advertising,” concluded Mr Crowley.

JNRS 2014/2015 – Average Issue Readership (AIR)

	Print & Digital Figure (‘000)	Print & Digital Percentage	Print Only Figure (‘000)	Print Only Percentage	Digital Only Figure (‘000)	Digital Only Percentage
Any Newspaper	2947	81.9	2733	75.9	720	20
Any Daily	2197	61	1866	51.8	615	17.1
Any Sunday	1983	55.1	1885	52.4	211	5.9

 

 

 

Notes for editors:

Definition of “regular readership”

“Regular readership” is based on Average Issue Readership (AIR). The definition of average issue readership is as follows:

The principle of measuring “readership” is to attempt to establish whether or not the person interviewed has looked at any copy of the publication in question (in print or online), during a period back from the day of interview equal to the interval at which the publication appears. (Reading on the actual day of interview is not included). Thus, for each daily paper, the survey established whether or not the person interviewed read it “yesterday”. In the case of daily newspapers, interviews conducted on Mondays treated reading on the previous Saturday as “yesterday”, in line with standard international practice. For each Sunday, regional or weekly publication (including newspaper magazines), the survey identified whether or not the respondent had looked at a copy during the past 7 days. Each of these reading occurrences is described as “average issue readership”, which is commonly referred to simply as “readership”.

About the JNRS

The Joint National Readership Survey (JNRS) is the most definitive and respected benchmark in determining the buying and selling of advertising space in the newspaper media in Ireland. It is Ireland’s largest random probability survey with a sample size of approximately 7,000 adults aged 15+. The JNRS contains a wealth of valuable research on readership in print or online of newspapers and newspaper magazines, as well as lifestyle statements and information on consumer behaviour. In addition it provides a vast amount of information on demographics and make-up of the population.

For further information:

Ann Marie Lenihan, News Brands Ireland

E: amlenihan@newsbrands.ie

M: 086 816 2764