21% Online users prefer web versions of newspapers – report

GDO Report

Twenty one per cent of web users who read newspapers have transferred their readership primarily to the online version, while a majority, or 72 per cent, of online users who consume newspapers primarily still access print editions, according to a report from internet research firm Nielsen//Net Ratings. Seven percent of online users who consume newspapers split their time evenly between the online and offline editions.

‘A significant percentage of newspaper readers have transferred their preference from print to online editions,’ said Gerry Davidson, senior media analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. ‘Accordingly, many online editions now feature original content and have developed an online strategy that includes online message boards and editorial blogs, which leverage the medium’s strengths of interactivity and immediacy.’

A greater proportion of male readers than female readers access their newspapers primarily online. Men who primarily read online newspapers make up 53 per cent of online readers while women comprise 47 per cent. In comparison, women make up 57 per cent of those who read newspapers primarily in print.
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