Journal readership remains strong, according to latest figures
Postmedia Network Inc. has the highest readership of all Canadian newspaper groups, with 10.7 million weekly print and digital readers, according to a new study by Vividata.
In Edmonton, despite the weak provincial economy, readership of the Journal remains stable at an average of 255,000 a day, Monday to Friday, and reaches 475,000 readers each week.
At the same time, the Vividata survey shows that readership of the National Post has grown by an impressive 34 per cent in Edmonton, Monday to Friday, reaching 39,000 a day. Meantime, Postmedia’s weekly digital readership of 476,000 in Edmonton easily outdistanced the competition, a gap that widened when looking at Postmedia’s combined print-digital readership of 791,000.
Postmedia publishes the National Post, as well as daily broadsheets including the Journal, the Calgary Herald, the Montreal Gazette and the Ottawa Citizen. Last year, it substantially increased its audience when it acquired 175 publications, including the Sun Media chain of tabloids, from Quebecor Media Inc. for $316 million.
By comparison, Torstar Corp. has 8.7 million weekly print and digital readers across Canada. In addition to the Toronto Star, Torstar publishes the Hamilton Spectator, the Waterloo Region Record and the free commuter paper Metro in Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Halifax.
The Globe and Mail reaches 6.4 million weekly print and digital readers, according to the study. The Globe is fully owned by The Woodbridge Company Ltd., which also has a controlling stake in Thomson Reuters.
The study highlighted the growth of the National Post, particularly in print, and its combined weekly print and digital readership reached 4.5 million.
“The dominant footprint of Postmedia across the country reinforces our commitment to providing quality content and audiences to our readers and clients in print and digitally. The combination of a wonderfully curated National Post section and strong local reporting is serving our customers very well,” said Gerry Nott, senior vice-president of content at Postmedia.
According to numbers released by Vividata in May, more than half of newspaper readership in Canada accesses content on multiple platforms, and cross-platform readership of digital content in Canada has grown more than four times since 2012.
The survey also shone a light on reading habits of millennials. On the average week, daily newspapers reach 77 per cent of millennials (ages 18-34) and 85 per cent of adults 50-plus. Digital and crossplatform readership is strongest among millennials, at 38 per cent, 18 per cent higher than for adults 50-plus.
To that end, the combined Postmedia network draws the largest number of weekly digital readers at 6.1 million, while Torstar brings in 4.3 million. The Globe and Mail has digital readership of 4.5 million.
Adults older than 50 remain the largest readership group for print newspapers, and Postmedia has a combined 8.1 million weekly print readers. Torstar brings in 7 million, and the Globe and Mail 3.6 million.
Vividata’s survey was created in October 2014 after the amalgamation of media analysis firms NAD bank and the Print Measurement Bureau. It replaces separate newspaper and magazine surveys that were conducted by the previous companies. Vividata measures audience performance for more than 70 daily newspapers, with 38,000 Canadians surveyed.