Average monthly unique audience figures for US newspaper websites grew by more than 3.6 million in 2007, a year on year increase of more than 6% over 2006 numbers, according to new research from the Newspaper Association of America (NAA).
Monthly unique visitors to US newspaper websites averaged 62.8 million in last year’s fourth quarter, a record number and the largest in any quarter since the NAA began tracking online usage in January 2004.
According to the data, which is part of a new report by Nielsen Online for NAA that takes into account home and work internet usage, unique visitors in the fourth quarter represented a 9% increase over the same period a year ago (57.6 million).
Heading into the holiday season, US newspaper sites experienced a record October 2007. More than 63.2 million people visited that month, more than any month on record. This figure represents an 8% increase from the same period a year ago.
John F Sturm, NAA President and CEO, said: “Newspapers continue to successfully transform themselves into multimedia companies, offering unparalleled content that reaches an audience growing in both size and sophistication.
“Newspapers’ expanding print and digital portfolio offers value to advertisers by providing a targeted, comprehensive menu of choices for today’s discriminating consumer.
“As our industry’s transition accelerates, it is clear consumers recognize newspapers as their trusted source of information in an increasingly digital environment.”
For the year’s fourth quarter, 39% of all active US web users visited newspaper websites, with visits averaging 44 minutes a month. Users generated more than three billion page impressions on average, a 7.3% increase over the same period a year ago.
| US Newspaper Websites |
| Month |
Unique Audience |
Active Reach Percentage |
Pages Per Person |
Page Views |
Time Per Person (mm:ss) |
Visits Per Person |
| Oct-07 |
63,209,003 |
39.77 |
51.27 |
3,240,780,669 |
46:44:00 |
8.59 |
| Nov-07 |
62,279,018 |
38.88 |
47.2 |
2,939,499,668 |
42:20:00 |
7.94 |
| Dec-07 |
63,052,143 |
38.2 |
45.82 |
2,888,760,593 |
41:57:00 |
7.83 |
| Q4 Average |
62,846,722 |
38.95 |
48.1 |
3,023,013,653 |
43:40:00 |
8.12 |
| Year |
Unique Audience* |
Active Reach Percentage |
Pages Per Person |
Page Views |
Time Per Person (mm:ss) |
Visits Per Person |
| 2007 |
60,035,743 |
37.75 |
47.79 |
2,869,190,785 |
42:59:00 |
8.11 |
| 2006 |
56,404,313 |
36.19 |
47.38 |
2,674,022,250 |
41:14:00 |
8 |
| * Based on four-quarter average |
| Source: Nielsen Online Custom Analysis |
A recent report from the World Association of Newspapers found that newspaper companies are optimistic about their ability to capture the time and interest of a new generation of readers (see Newspaper Companies Optimistic About Capturing Younger Readers).
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