Herald Growth Spearheads APN

Herald Growth Spearheads APN

The continuing strength of APN’s print brands and their enduring relationship with New Zealanders has been reinforced by the latest Nielsen readership results released today. APN publishing brands now connect with 2.6 million or 7 out of 10 New Zealanders each week.

APN’s flagship news brand, The New Zealand Herald, has spearheaded growth increasing its daily brand audience by 37,000, to 805,000 in print and online, and reaching 1.3 million throughout a week.

The Herald on Sunday increased its market-leading readership in the Northern Region and in Auckland, in the important Sunday newspaper market.

Newspaper sales figures, which were also separately released today by the Audit Bureau of Circulation, were also a good news story for APN with both The New Zealand Herald and Herald on Sunday, achieving growth over the last 12 months.

Audience growth for the Herald brand

The Herald’s weekly brand audience is now 1,309,000 people, 61% of whom connect with the Herald brand in print and online on a typical day - an increase of 37,000 on last year. The Herald’s print edition connects with 570,000 New Zealanders on a typical day.

The Weekend Herald recorded a readership of 616,000, reaching 79,000 more readers than any other weekend newspaper in New Zealand.

The Herald’s circulation continues to perform well, with growth on last quarter to 170,833 on an average day. The Herald on Sunday again earned the title of the fastest growing newspaper in the country, with paid sales increasing by 5% on December 2010. This increase lifted Herald on Sunday’s paid circulation to six figures for the first time, selling 101,030 copies on average per week during 2011.

Herald on Sunday dominates the Northern region and Auckland markets

The Herald on Sunday’s circulation success has translated into increased reader numbers, with 3,000 more New Zealanders turning to their favourite Sunday each week in 2011, building total HOS weekly readership to 382,000. Much of the increase came in its core distribution areas of north of Taupo and Auckland where it increased its audience leadership. The Herald on Sunday now reaches 354,000 readers in the Northern Region, with an additional 82,000 readers than its closest competitor, the Sunday Star-Times.

And The Herald on Sunday’s performance continues to go from strength to strength in the Auckland market, where it delivers 34% more reach than any other Sunday paper, a position which has doubled in the last 12 months. The Herald on Sunday now delivers as many Auckland consumers as Sunday Star-Times and Sunday News, combined.

Award winning nzherald.co.nz grows mobile

New Zealand’s best website (Canon Media Awards 2011), nzherald.co.nz, commands 62% of the total NZ online audience with a monthly audience of 1,720,000 visitors. Unique browsers increased by 28% over the 12 months ending December 2011. Along with attracting new users, nzherald.co.nz has also experienced growth in the time people spend with its content, with engagement time increasing 9%.

Over the last 12 months the Herald has released iPhone and Android apps. Along with the market leading iPad app they attracted 179,171 unique visitors last month, a ten-fold increase in UVs on December 2010. Growth of the Herald’s mobile site was also evident with monthly unique browsers doubling year-on-year, to 482,534 in December 2011.

APN’s stable of women’s weekly titles engage with over a million New Zealanders each week

APN’s weekly women’s magazine portfolio reaches out to 1,022,000 people each week. The portfolio comprising The New Zealand Woman’s Weekly (771,000 readers), New Idea (458,000) and That’s Life (285,000) provide un-rivalled coverage in the weekly magazine category. New Zealand Woman’s Weekly’s website is gaining traction, with unique browsers growing by 58% on 2010.

APN regional brands experience cross platform growth

The print editions of APN’s regional daily newspapers also grew readership in the past 12 months to 213,000 New Zealanders on a typical day (+1000). The regionals’ companion websites also showed strong growth, with unique browsers up by 33% in December this year. Regional audiences are engaging more with content online, with page impressions doubling in December 2011 on last year.

APN delivering strong content across multiple platforms

Martin Simons, CEO of APN’s NZ Media Business said the latest results demonstrate APN’s ability to adapt to consumers needs and the growing use of multiple media platforms to digest news and information.

“At APN, we are proud of the fact our print media continue to communicate with large numbers of New Zealanders each week. Our digital media has been extremely successful in extending our reach across New Zealand, and have enriched the media experience for many of our news and information consumers.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media