Fairfax's print circulation may be declining but digital take-up continues to soar, with daily unique browsers visiting via smartphone apps increasing around 700% for the SMH and Age in April.
The multi-platform Fairfax Metro Media Audience Report (FMMAR) reflects the results of Fairfax’s strategy for its metropolitan markets: a “managed reduction” in print sales, focusing on selling digital subscriptions.
Audience migration to smartphones and tablets featured heavily in the results, with daily unique browsers for the SMH mobile sites jumping by 99%, with an 85% increase for The Age.
The SMH digital editions have seen sales of 51,282 for the Monday-Friday editions during April, 56,519 on Saturdays and 45,135 on Sundays. The Age sold 16,229 digital editions Monday-Friday during March, 20,109 on Saturdays and 19,113 on Sundays. While there is no year-on-year (YOY) data for these figures, these numbers are higher than in the last FMMAR.
In contrast, print edition sales of both mastheads continue to decline, with SMH sales falling 11% on weekdays, 8% on Saturdays, and 10% on Sundays for The Sun Herald. The Age has seen a 14% sales drop on weekdays and a 14% fall on Saturdays, while The Sunday Age sales have fallen by 15%. Readership figures saw similar declines.
FMMAR results also show large increases in audiences via tablet and mobile app downloads and the web. Daily unique browsers visiting the SMH and Age mobile sites are up by 99% and 85% respectively. Monthly page views have also increased, with the SMH mobile site seeing 84% more traffic and The Age seeing a 100% jump.
Downloads of the mobile phone apps grew by more than 700% for both mastheads YOY, while tablet app downloads come to 285,770 for the SMH and 253,607 for The Age to date.
Of the results, Fairfax Metro Media chief executive Jack Matthews said: “We’ve said before that Fairfax journalism is reaching a larger audience than ever before. What this report shows is that our strategic focus on sustainable and profitable circulation for our print platform is not impeding the ability of our mastheads to continue the growth of our total audience.”
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