A Fifth of Online Users Who Read Newspapers Now Rely Primarily on Web Editions, According to Nielsen//NetRatings (News Release)   - 1,260 Views,

NEW YORK, June 16 /PRNewswire/ — Nielsen//NetRatings (Nasdaq: NTRT), the
global standard for Internet audience measurement and analysis, reported today
findings from the Nielsen//NetRatings @Plan Summer 2005 release on online
versus offline newspaper consumption. The research focused exclusively on
Internet users who consume newspapers and excluded online users who obtain
their news from other online news and information sources.

The research shows that a significant 21 percent of Web users who read
newspapers have transferred their readership primarily to the online version,
while a majority, or 72 percent, of online users who consume newspapers
primarily still access print editions (see Table 1). Seven percent of online
users who consume newspapers split their time evenly between the online and
offline editions.

“A significant percentage of newspaper readers have transferred their
preference from print to online editions,” said Gerry Davidson, senior media
analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. “Accordingly, many online editions now feature
original content and have developed an online strategy that includes online
message boards and editorial blogs, which leverage the medium’s strengths of
interactivity and immediacy.”

Table 1. Nielsen//NetRatings @Plan Online & Offline Newspaper Consumption
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Online/Offline Newspaper Consumption Breakdown
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Primarily Print Newspaper Reading 72%
Primarily Online Newspaper Reading 21%
Split Between Print & Online Newspaper Reading 7%
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Source: Nielsen//NetRatings @Plan, Summer 2005 Release
Survey Question: Many newspapers have both print and online versions. In
the past week, which statement would best reflect your newspaper
readership?
Note: Percentages calculated from respondents who consumed either online
or offline newspapers, and excludes those who either did not respond or
weren’t sure.

A greater proportion of male readers than female readers access their
newspapers primarily online. Men who primarily read online newspapers make up
53 percent of online readers while women comprise 47 percent. In comparison,
women make up 57 percent of those who read newspapers primarily in print.
NYTimes.com led the top five online newspapers with an audience of
11.3 million unique visitors during May 2005, followed by USAToday.com with
9.2 million readers and WashingtonPost.com with 7.4 million viewers (see Table
2). Rounding out the top five were LATimes.com with 3.8 million and San
Francisco Chronicle (SFGate.com) with 3.4 million unique visitors.
“Not surprisingly, the top online newspapers tend to be located in
metropolitan cities where both population and broadband access rates are
higher, which correlates with greater Web page consumption,” said Davidson.

Table 2. Top 5 Newspaper Web sites (Non-aggregated Brands), May 2005,
U.S., Home & Work
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Newspaper Web site Unique Audience (000) Active Reach
————————————————————–
NYTimes.com 11,255 7.6%
USATODAY.com 9,186 6.2%
WashingtonPost.com 7,387 5.0%
LA Times 3,751 2.5%
San Francisco Chronicle 3,421 2.3%
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Source: Nielsen//NetRatings NetView, June 2005