Newspaper Readership Figures Fall
The House of Lords Communications Committee has published NRS figures showing a decline in the overall number of people and proportion of the population who read a hardcopy of a national daily newspaper between 1992 and 2006.
The overall number of adults reading at least one of the top ten national daily newspapers on an average day reduced by 19% between 1992 and 2006 (from 26.7 million to 21.7 million).
However, if the increase in the adult population over this period is taken into account then the data shows a 24% decrease in overall population reach: 59% of adults read one or more national daily newspapers in 1992, while 45% did in 2006.
The data also shows that decline in national daily readership has been most marked amongst younger adults. The overall number of 15-24 year old readers fell by 37% and 25-34 year old readers by 40%.
The number of older readers has held more steady, with the number of 55-64 year old readers increasing by 4% and the number of readers aged 65+ falling by 3%.
The decline in readers has affected almost all national daily newspapers, with some titles more affected than others. However, two national daily newspapers have managed to achieve growth in overall readers and population reach – the Times and Daily Mail.
The Times has seen a 69% increase in total readers and a 59% increase in reach. The Daily Mail, has seen a growth in total readers of 18% and an 11% increase in reach. The Guardian had a 3% reduction in overall readers and a 9% decrease in reach.
Against this the two most affected titles are: the Daily Express (54% decline in readership, 57% decline in reach) and Daily Mirror/Daily Record (49% decline in readership, 52% decline in reach).
The NRS figures show that the same general trends are true for the Sunday papers. The overall number of people reading one or more national Sunday newspaper declined by 21% and their reach declined by 26%.
Again the decline was most marked amongst younger readers. The Sunday Telegraph, the Mail on Sunday and the Sunday Times all saw an increase in overall readers. No Sunday paper managed to increase the percentage of the population it reached.
Lord Fowler, the chairman of the Communications Committee, said: “These figures show an overall decline in the number of people reading a national newspaper. However, they also show that more than 21 million people in Britain still read at least one of the top ten national daily newspapers on an average day.
“This figure does not include the readership of free daily newspapers like the Metro, which has a readership of over two million. Nor does it include the readership of Scottish, Welsh and regional titles or people who read newspaper content online.”
“With 45% of the population reading one of the top ten national newspapers on an average day it is clear that ownership of the press remains an important issue. In the New Year the Committee will be looking in detail at whether media ownership is appropriately regulated and how the public interest can be upheld. Details of the questions the Committee wants to receive evidence about are on our website.”
NRS: 020 7242 8111 www.nrs.co.uk