Over 59 million people in the US (37.6% of all active US internet users) visited newspaper websites during the first quarter of 2007, according to research from Nielsen//NetRatings for the Newspaper Association of America (NAA).
This number, says Neilsen//NetRatings, represents a 5.3% increase over the same period a year ago. The visitors generated almost three billion page views per month during the quarter, compared to just under 2.7 billion a year earlier.
John F. Sturm, NAA President and CEO, said: “These record-setting numbers underscore…the importance of newspaper websites to the growing newspaper footprint.
“In addition, the sites attract a younger, more affluent audience coveted by advertisers while providing a valuable service to readers seeking immediate information from a trusted local source.”
The average visitor to a newspaper website spent more than 45 minutes per month on sites during the quarter, an 11.5% increase over this time last year.
In January, visitors generated 3.1 billion page views, beating the previous record in that category. In March, more than 59.5 million people (or more than one in three active internet users) visited newspaper websites, the largest unique audience for any month since the association began tracking these numbers in 2004.
| First Quarter Online Newspaper Audience |
| Month |
Audience (mil) |
% Reach |
Page Views (bil) |
Visits/Person |
| 2007 |
| January |
58.9 |
37.6 |
3.2 |
8.7 |
| February |
58.8 |
37.5 |
2.8 |
7.9 |
| March |
59.6 |
37.7 |
3 |
8.6 |
| Avg Q1 |
59.1 |
37.6 |
3 |
8.4 |
| 2006 |
| January |
56.5 |
36.6 |
2.7 |
8.2 |
| February |
53.9 |
35.7 |
2.6 |
8 |
| March |
57.9 |
37.6 |
2.7 |
8.1 |
| Avg Q1 |
56.1 |
36.6 |
2.7 |
8.1 |
| Source: Nielsen//NetRatings Custom Analysis, April 2007 |
In April, the NAA revealed that 36% of all US internet users visited a newspaper website in November 2006, and page views for newspaper websites increased 27% year on year during the second half of 2006 (see 36% Of US Internet Users Visit Newspaper Websites).
In other research, the NAA said that advertising expenditures for US newspaper web sites increased by 35% to $745.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2007 versus the same period a year ago (see US Newspaper Website Ad Spend Increases).
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