More than 59 million Americans (37.3% of all active US internet users) visited newspaper websites on average during the second quarter of 2007, according to custom analysis provided by Nielsen//NetRatings for the Newspaper Association of America (NAA).
The NAA says that this is a record number representing a 7.7% increase over the same period a year ago. In addition, newspaper website visitors generated nearly 2.7 billion page views per month throughout the quarter, compared to slightly more than 2.5 billion during the same period last year.
The second quarter figures are the highest for any quarter since NAA began tracking these numbers in 2004.
May 2007 also was a record-breaking month for the industry in the US; more than 60 million people visited newspaper websites that month, more than any month on record. This figure represents a 6.7% increase from the same period a year ago.
John F Sturm, NAA President and CEO, said: “As the industry continues to expand its digital portfolio, readers are visiting newspaper websites in record numbers for in-depth news and information as well as hyper-local information.
“These sites continue to adapt to evolving consumer demands, frequently allowing user comments on articles and offering thought-provoking blogs to complement the journalistic excellence that makes newspapers a community’s most trusted resource.”
According to Nielsen//NetRatings, users spent a combined 7.2 billion minutes browsing newspaper websites during the second quarter during nearly 1.4 billion total visits.
“Engagement is an important factor that reflects the value of online news products, and the amount of time users spend enjoying a newspaper’s digital content further establishes these sites as premier online destinations for a demanding and sophisticated audience,” Sturm added.
In separate research recently published by the NAA it was revealed that advertising expenditures for newspaper web sites increased by 22.3% to $750 million in the first quarter of the year (see Adspend On US Newspaper Websites Increases).
The World Association of Newspapers recently reported that newspaper circulations world-wide rose 2.3% in 2006, while newspaper advertising revenues showed substantial gains (see Global Newspaper Circulations Show Rise).
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