AUCKLAND, Today: Readership numbers for every NZ daily newspaper rose exponentially in 2020, according to the latest Nielsen toplines. This is in stark contrast to the magazines sector, where many titles experienced scary falls.
The newspaper revival was led by big numbers for the NZ Herald, while the numbers for all three Sunday papers were also up by substantial margins.
Magazine blushes were saved only by Readers Digest, NZ Geographic, and AA Directions (all recorded good increases). But most of the popular titles lost weight.
NEWSPAPERS YEAR-ON-YEAR COMPARATIVES (add 3 x zeroes – ie, NZ Herald 612 becomes 612,000)
Average Daily Readership (Q1 2020-Q4 2020)
- NZ Herald 612 (up from 455)
- Waikato Times 67 (up from 42)
- Dominion Post 166 (up from 142
- The Press 136 (up from 134)
- Otago Daily Times 107 (up from 91)
- All dailies 1254 (up from 1046)
Average Weekly Readership
- Sunday News 100 (up from 68)
- Sunday Star-Times 235 (up from 206)
- Herald on Sunday 362 (up from 325)
MAGAZINES YEAR-ON-YEAR COMPARATIVES
Monthlies
- Avenues 50 (down from 65)
- Deals on Wheels/Farm Trader 92 (down from 124)
- Mindfood 178 (down from 223)
- Motorhomes, Caravans & Destinations 77 (up from71)
- NZ Gardener 160 (down from 272)
- NZ Lifestyle Block 70 (down from 78)
- NZ Horse & Pony 34 (down from 38)
- NZ House & Garden 357 (down from 475)
- Readers Digest 189 (up from 171)
Bi-monthlies
- Cuisine 224 (down from 264)
- Hunting & Fishing NZ 407 (down from 511)
- Dish 147 (down from 164)
- Good 50 (up from 43)
- Homestyle 79 (down from 103)
- NZ Geographic 334 (up from 307)
- NZ Life & Leisure 90 (down from 134)
Quarterlies
- AA Directions 937 (up from 884)
- Hunting & Fishing NZ 407 (down from 511)
- Ohbaby 78 (down from 89)
The NZ Herald was quick to issue a press release, marking the significance of the newspaper sector’s remarkable figures.
Ed Murray Kirkness said: “The extraordinary news events of the past 12 months have seen audiences turn to the NZ Herald – and its informative, trusted and quality journalism – in record numbers online and in print.
“The latest news readership insights released by Nielsen show more than 2.1 million New Zealanders engage with the New Zealand Herald each week.
“The daily NZ Herald print newspaper readership is now at 612,000 – a 35% year-on-year increase and now at its highest in 17 years. The Weekend Herald’s readership of 720,000 is at an 18-year high.
“nzherald.co.nz is also on a high – it’s now spent six consecutive months as the number-one news website in New Zealand, cementing this position with almost 1.9 million unique browsers for the month of January.*
“And NZ Herald Premium digital subscriptions continue to grow, totalling more than 102,000, including 53,000 paid digital-only subscribers.
“All of our inserted magazine such as Canvas, TimeOut, Viva and our Travel magazines have grown their readership.”
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