Herald reaches 1.3m readers in print and online formats

Sales of the New Zealand Herald are up for the fourth consecutive survey by the Audit Bureau of Circulation.

Average daily sales of the paper in the year to September 30 stand at 170,707, a slight rise on the previous quarter and above all audits since December 2009.

The latest survey did not include some of the high sales recorded through the Rugby World Cup, spurred by 44 issues of the daily Rugby Herald and collectible magazines and posters.

Sales of our sister paper, the Herald on Sunday, rose by about 900 copies to 98,971 - the only Sunday paper to record an increase.

In readership figures issued separately yesterday by Nielsen Media Research, the Herald's combined print and online audience reached almost 1.3 million New Zealanders every week, up 41,000. On an average day, 790,000 engage with the Herald in print or online. Readership of the print edition was down 12,000 to 574,000 between the June and September quarters, but the paper continues to deliver more readers than all other main metropolitan dailies combined.

The Weekend Herald is read by 631,000 people, more than 90,000 above any other weekend title.

Our website, nzherald.co.nz, recorded a 35 per cent lift in unique browsers in the 12 months to September 30 and the Herald's mobile site grew its monthly unique browsers by 171 per cent to 566,970.

Martin Simons, chief executive of Herald publisher APN NZ, said the Herald titles were delivering on New Zealanders' demands for quality journalism across the range of media platforms.

"All this is contributing to an overall increase in people connecting with the Herald brand."