New Zealand Herald editorial staff planning the news of the day. Photo/File
New Zealand Herald editorial staff planning the news of the day. Photo/File
The New Zealand Herald's print readership has risen yet again – and daily and weekly brand audience numbers are now at record levels, according to new Nielsen data released today.
The Herald's daily readership has reached 477,000 people in the year to March 31 - an increase of 18,000 per day on the previous year and an increase of 24,000 per day on the previous quarter.
"Our journalism is resonating," said NZME managing editor Shayne Currie.
"The Herald has had what I can only describe as phenomenal growth in our readership as more New Zealanders look to us as a source of news and information they can trust."
The Herald launched premium digital subscriptions on April 30 and announced it had hit its annual target of 10,000 digital subscribers in the first six weeks.
Today's Nielsen numbers reveal the daily brand audience for NZ Herald has reached a record 1.098 million and the weekly brand audience a record 1.718 million people.
The Weekend Herald remains easily New Zealand's biggest and best-read newspaper, with 540,000 readers – up 25,000 year on year – while the Herald on Sunday dominates the Sunday market with a readership of 324,000 – up 11,000 readers on the previous period and 37,000 more than its two rivals combined.
The Herald's sister newspapers in Bay of Plenty – the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post – also recorded readership increases while the Whanganui Chronicle has remained stable.
Each of the NZ Herald's daily magazines – Travel, Viva, TimeOut, Canvas, Weekend and Spy – have recorded readership increases, with Travel and Canvas recording well over 300,000 readers for each edition.
Travel has become New Zealand's biggest newspaper magazine, reaching 323,000 readers.
NZME chief commercial officer Matt Headland said the readership results further reinforced the depth and breadth of the NZ Herald's audiences.
"Across the week our daily newspapers reach more than one million Kiwis. Combine that with NZME's radio networks and digital audiences the opportunity for advertisers to engage with audiences of all ages, right around New Zealand is unrivalled," said Headland.
The launch of the Herald's premium section led to more than 10,000 subscriptions in six weeks. Photo/File
Currie added: "There are many great stories to tell about these numbers but two others really stand out. We've had a massive increase in the number of people reading the NZ Herald on a Monday. It's up 43,000 year on year. It's great credit to our teams who are engaging more Kiwis in the news as they start their week.
"The other stand out is how much of our readership growth is coming from younger readers. Over the past three years, we've increased the number of 18-29-year-old NZ Herald readers by 57,000 to 174,0003. Proving digital natives appreciate a quality print product too."
