The latest readership data from NADbank shows that newspapers’ print editions are still the most popular way to read them, staving off digital media’s quest for dominance, for now.
NADbank’s 2010 newspaper readership report shows that while migration to newspaper websites is still happening, readers continue to use print editions as their primary source for news. According to the report, 73% of Canadians read at least one printed newspaper each week; 22% visited a newspaper website each week.
The 2010 study also shows an increase in overall newspaper readership. The number of adults that read a daily or visited a newspaper website each week rose from 14.7 million in 2009 to 15 million in 2010. Both figures represent 78% reach in their respective years.
Across all markets, 73% of readers read a printed edition of a daily newspaper each week and 71% read only the printed edition.
While most adults roam between print and online editions, 6% visited only the newspaper website.
Painting the bigger picture, the study shows that nearly eight out of 10 adults living in daily newspaper markets read either a printed edition or visited a newspaper website each week.
On the average weekday, 47% of adults read a printed daily newspaper, 43% read a Saturday edition and 21% a Sunday edition.
The study gives newspaper readership results for 82 Canadian newspapers and two Detroit newspapers in 53 markets across Canada. NADbank’s database contains the readership habits of 72% of Canadian adults.
A breakdown of readership in the top 10 markets delves into weekly readership for print-only and total readership. The highest readership overall (for both print and online) is Winnipeg (79% weekly printed, 83% total weekly). Next is Vancouver (76% weekly printed, 80% total weekly), Ottawa-Gatineau (73% weekly printed, 80% total weekly), Quebec City (76% weekly printed, 79% total weekly) and Calgary (74% weekly printed, 78% total weekly).
In addition to the 2010 readership study released yesterday, which contains readership and demographic data, NADbank is readying its 2010 Supplementary Report in May, which will include the 2010 single-year data for the top six markets—Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, and Edmonton—as well as Halifax.
