APN Brands hold leadership positions

APN Brands hold leadership positions

APN publishing brands continue to hold strong leadership positions across all key categories according to the latest industry readership results from Nielsen Media Research, for the 12 month period ending December 2009.

APN titles continue to lead newspaper categories with the New Zealand Herald the best read daily newspaper and the Weekend Herald the best read weekend newspaper. The New Zealand Woman’s Weekly also retains the number one readership position in the competitive weekly magazine category.

New Zealanders loyal to APN’s Publishing brands

Publishing Chief Executive Martin Simons said APN’s publishing brands had demonstrated their strength throughout a difficult year for most businesses.

“The loyalty New Zealanders have shown towards our publications through this demanding period demonstrate the value of strong brand relationships. Many consumers were forced to question their discretionary spend during 2009 and the continued support of our publications reflects the importance they place on them.”

Herald increases brand audience

The Herald’s daily brand audience has now reached 680,000, an increase of 11,000 readers on a typical day. The brand audience includes content read across the print and online edition. Over a week 1,145,000 New Zealanders (about two out of every three Aucklanders) connect with the Herald brand. The Herald’s print edition recorded a readership result of 560,000 leading the daily newspaper category and twice as many readers than any other metropolitan newspaper.

The Herald also leads the way in newspaper sales. Audited circulation results for the Herald record average daily sales of 170,437 making the paper the best selling newspaper in the country. Business news continues to be a key advantage for the paper, with The Herald’s Business section growing by an average 5% for each of its daily editions over the last 12 months. The Friday Business Herald, produced separately in tabloid format, has recorded a readership of 364,000 – four times the readership of any other weekly business magazine.

The Weekend Herald is New Zealand’s best read weekend newspaper with 613,000 readers followed closely by the Wednesday edition of the Herald with 581,000 readers. The Weekend Herald’s Canvas magazine continued its trend of readership growth, increasing 22,000 readers (+5.5%) over the last 12 months to reach 423,000 readers, making it the second best read consumer magazine in the northern region. Time Out magazine, inserted in the Herald’s Thursday edition, continues to “own” entertainment in the Northern region with 365,000 readers, up 13,000 or 4% on last year while the Herald’s award winning Travel section also grew readership up 5,000 over the previous release.

Herald on Sunday best read Sunday in Northern Region

The Herald on Sunday recorded a readership of 371,000 and is New Zealand’s second highest selling Sunday newspaper with an audited circulation of 90,268. Readership for the Herald on Sunday in the Northern region at 338,000 gives the APN title 47,000 more readers than any other Sunday newspaper. The Herald on Sunday increased its share of the total Sunday newspaper market. APN continues to own weekend readership in Auckland with nine out of 10 of Auckland’s weekend newspaper readers, reading either the Weekend Herald or Herald on Sunday.

APN number one magazine title

The New Zealand Woman’s Weekly has maintained its long-held position as New Zealand’s best read weekly magazine, achieving a readership of 795,000 – which was an increase of 3,000 on the previous readership release. Circulation for the magazine was audited at 80,445. The New Zealand Listener regained its position as New Zealand’s best read and best sold current affairs magazine with a readership of 274,000 and circulation of 62,532. The Listener sells 34,000 more copies than its nearest current affairs magazine competitor. Crème is the best selling youth magazine recording average sales of 20,309 over the last 6 months and a readership of 162,000 up 5,000 or 3.2% on the last readership release.

APN increases share of regional readership

Readership of APN’s regional newspapers has remained stable year on year with less than a percentage movement across the portfolio. This has resulted in share gains for APN’s regional newspapers with 41% of regional newspaper readers reading an APN newspaper, up 1.2 share points on last year. Highlights for APN regional papers include the Daily Post increasing readership by 5,000 or 26% to 24,000 and the Bay of Plenty Times adding 2,000 readers to 49,000.

* Readership results are measured independently by Nielsen Media Research as part of the National Print Readership survey. The survey is a continuous, face to face survey based on a representative sample of 12,000 New Zealanders age 10+ * Circulation results are measured independently by the Audit Bureau of Circulation.

Information Sources: Nielsen Media Research, National Readership Survey: January 09 – December 09, January 08 – December 08, October 08 – September 09. Newspaper readership & brand audience – AP 15+, Magazine readership – AP 10+ Audit Bureau of Circulation – 6 months end 31 December 2009 (ANC)

ENDS

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