Sunday paper’s growth continues

May 12, 2006

Circulation Release, New Zealand Herald, Herald On Sunday

Sunday paper’s growth continues, daily Herald maintains lead

Continued circulation growth of the Herald on Sunday is the highlight of the latest ABC audit for the six months ending March 31.

The Sunday newspaper, launched in October 2004, increased circulation over the previous six months figure by 1,487 to a new total of 93,193. This follows significant results achieved in the latest Nielsen Media Research readership survey which placed the Herald on Sunday as the best read Sunday newspaper in Auckland and the Northern readership region (north of Taupo.)

APN New Zealand CEO Ken Steinke said the Herald on Sunday had established itself as a major player in the Sunday market, achieving a leading position with readers in the upper North Island, New Zealand’s fastest growing region.

At the same time, the company’s flagship title, The New Zealand Herald, had confirmed its position as the country’s largest daily newspaper with a six months ABC figure of 200,309. The Herald’s circulation experienced slight declines on the previous six and 12 months figures but maintained a 46 percent share of metropolitan newspaper sales.

The Weekend Herald is not separately audited but remains New Zealand’s largest newspaper both in newspaper sales and readership. In 2005 Nielsens reported 531,000 weekend newspaper readers (AP 15+) in Auckland and of those, 85 percent were reading The Weekend Herald or Herald on Sunday.

Mr Steinke said the latest circulation figures underlined APN’s leading position in Auckland and the upper North Island, across all seven days of the week.

“Every week, almost 1.3 million copies of The New Zealand Herald and the Herald on Sunday are sold in Auckland and the northern region of New Zealand. And every week, 87 percent of those reading a paper in Auckland will be reading an APN newspaper.”

The Herald on Sunday is continuing to track back towards its initial launch circulation figure of 101,355, which was achieved during a period of significant introductory launch offers.

Source: Audit Bureau of Circulation period end 31/3/06, 31/9/05, 31/3/05. Nielsen Media Research National Readership Survey January-December 2005 AP15+

ENDS

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