Digital Packages Boost Newspaper Circ

Can digital subscription packages drive growth in… print newspaper circulation? That’s the finding of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) in looking at a broader definition of circulation for U.S. newspapers. The report found that newspapers throughout the U.S. saw a slight increase of less than 1% in daily circulation in the last six months compared with the year before. Sunday circulation among newspapers rose 5 percent, thanks partly to an increase in digital readership. Digital accounted for 14.2% of total circulation, up from 8.6% a year earlier. The New York Times saw the heftiest growth in circulation. In a statement, the Times Co. chalked up the increase to “the popularity of the Times’ digital subscription packages, which launched in the United States on March 28, 2011.” One of the most popular offerings from the Times has been a free digital package (on tablets, smartphones and desktops) with a Sunday print subscription. The Orange County Register, Newsday, the Denver Post, and the Newark Star-Ledger also saw considerable gains in daily circulation.

But because of its new reporting rules, the ABC warned “against drawing too many direct comparisons of the data in today’s FAS-FAX report.” As paidContent’s Staci Kramer noted, “This used to be a fairly easy affair—you looked at the charts and you could see winners and losers at a glance. It’s not that easy now, however, since the agency’s efforts to measure total circulation in these complicated times altered the field.” In addition, the new measurements give publishers increased flexibility in how they count circulation, according to Poynter’s Andrew Beaujon. “The new rules allow publishers a variety of ways to count subscribers to various products multiple times. Digital replicas, branded editions such as Spanish language papers and digital subscriptions can all be counted according to publishers’ preferences,” he explained. “Whether publishers took advantage of that ability won’t be apparent until they release their own statements at mid-year.”

• Small Gain in Newspaper Circulations, Aided by Digital Subscriptions (NY Times)

• Digital circulation up 63% for U.S. newspapers (paidContent)

• ABC: Newspaper circulation rose in last six months, 5% on Sundays (Poynter)

• Newspaper circulation inches higher, ABC says (Associated Press)

• Journal Remains Biggest U.S. Paper (Wall Street Journal)

• Newspapers See Gain in Daily, Sunday Circ (Adweek)

• Digital gains lift Sun-Times network past Tribune weekdays (Chicago Tribune)

• New circulation numbers likely to show Sunday strength, impact of paid digital (Poynter)

• New York Times Leads Circulation Gains Among Newspapers (Bloomberg)

• Globe circulation grows for the first time since 2004 (Boston.com)

• Aided by Paywalls, Newspapers Halt Circulation Declines (Ad Age)

• Newspaper Circ Down, Some Major Market Titles Report Uptick (MediaPost)