CIA Launches Own Sections 95
Just weeks before the joint research between Leo Burnett, the COI and Express Newspapers, CIA MediaLab has launched its own ‘Sections 95’ research. Initial data from the Burnett/Express research seems to correlate with the CIA survey, in that readership of the sections is highest on a Sunday. Sunday Newspapers Read For Longer.
Readership is not only highest on a Sunday it is also relatively stable; the Sunday Telegraph’s main section is read by the highest proportion of readers, 94%. The Observer, at 87%, has the lowest proportion of readers reading the main section.
The Sunday Times, which has 10 additional sections, has three of these read by over 60% of its readers, Magazine, Culture and News Review; the Sunday Times Magazine, which is read by 82%, is proportionately the most-read magazine of all the newspapers examined in Sections 95.
The Sunday Telegraph has the highest overall proportion of high-fliers looking at its business pages; more than half (56%) of the Sunday Telegraph’supmarket AB readers read this section; this is followed by the Observer, 49%, and the Sunday Times, 47%. The Independent on Sunday lags behind with just 35% of its AB readers looking at its business pages.
Although Sunday newspapers are still very popular, the Saturday titles have taken a lot of ground; if forced to choose between either a Saturday or a Sunday newspaper, 35% of respondents that usually read both said they would choose a Saturday title and 60% would choose a Sunday.
Out of the daily papers, the Daily Telegraph, like its Sunday sister title, has one of the best read sections, read by 93% of readers of the paper; the Evening Standard’s Friday section is also read by 93% of readers; the paper with the worst record in terms of section readership is Today, with 79% of readers reading its main section.
The research also looked at people’s opinions of colour supplements; 64% of respondents said they were irritated by the amount of mail order advertising in them. The section with the most consistent readership levels is thewomen’s section; of women that read Today or the Daily Express, 70% read the women’s sections; this is closely followed by the Daily Mail 69%, and the Mail on Sunday, 68%. However, although 70% of a newspaper’s female readers will read its women’s section, these pages are not the favourite. The sections most likely to be read by women, apart from the main newspaper and the magazine, are the Independent on Sunday’s Review, read by 79% of women that read the Independent on Sunday, Daily Mail’s Weekend, read by 77% of women readers, and the Guardian’s Weekend, read by 76% of its women readers.
Young people seem to have a different attitude to newspaper reading compared to the older generation; readers aged over 65 are most likely to read their newspaper cover to cover, but more than half of 15-24 year olds flick through the paper first to find things of interest. The favourite sections of this age group are listings sections.
The research was carried out by BMRB for CIA. The fieldwork was carried out for two weeks in September, by face to face interview within 3,000 homes.
For further information, contact Anthony Jones, CIA MediaLab: 0171 633 9999.