NZME titles increase reasdership

New Zealand Herald publisher NZME has gained readers across the board in the latest Nielsen survey.
 
Its flagship masthead, the New Zealand Herald has an average issue readership at 459,000 a day, up eight per cent from this time last year. The regions have seen growth for three NZME titles: Rotorua Daily Post, Northern Advocate and Hawke’s Bay Today. The latter gained a 13.6 per cent increase compared to this time last year.
 
Matt Headland, chief commercial officer, “The growth we have seen in print over this survey gives our advertisers the confidence that their message will reach the right audience. The growth of different publications within the NZME wheelhouse helps us create multi-platform campaigns when combined with NZME’s radio and digital offering, meaning our clients can make sure every dollar has the highest return possible.”
 
The 822,000 Herald weekly readership represents an increase of 53,000. a leap by industry standards. Shayne Currie, managing editor for NZME, says the readership growth shows New Zealanders value premium journalism and that newspapers continue to play a valuable and essential role in people’s lives.
 
He says, “We have a fantastic team of editors and journalists who do an outstanding job producing top-level content across all platforms. It’s very easy for a typical media business to focus on one or two platforms – the beauty of NZME is we’re building audiences and producing our journalism on all levels, including print, digital, social, radio and video.
 
“There’s even more exciting times ahead, as we fully focus on expanding our premium journalism, and building a deeply engaged audience.”
 
The Herald on Sunday’s readership has also grown since the last period, seven per cent to 349,000 compared to the previous release. The Weekend Herald has grown its readership to over half a million for the first time since the June 2014 release, with 515,000 readers.
 
Weekend newspaper readers have a highly engagement. On average, people spend 49 minutes on a Saturday reading the Weekend Herald, and 44 minutes with the Herald on Sunday.
 
All NZME magazines (Canvas, Timeout, Viva, Business, Bite, Spy and Sunday Travel) also saw increased readership. The New Zealand Herald Travel has 368,000 distinct readers across the Tuesday and Sunday editions, and Weekend and Canvas reach 293,000 readers each, every Saturday.