Thanks readers! Herald surges

The New Zealand Herald’s audience has strengthened again — with the numbers building on solid results from the last survey.

The latest Nielsen readership data shows the New Zealand

Herald has seen an 8 per cent increase year on year in readership to 453,000 readers a day, with 806,000 readers across a week.

The Herald has maintained an engaged daily brand audience across digital and print of more than one million people, increasing 5 per cent year on year to 1,050,000. The weekly NZ Herald brand audience has grown 7 per cent year on year to reach 1,669,000 people.

This popularity extends to social media, the Herald reaching 828,690 users on average a day on its main Facebook page from July to September with a 30.91 per cent reach engagement rate.

Michael Boggs, chief executive of NZME, which owns the Herald, said: “Such results tell a powerful story of attracting and engaging readers when gaining attention is becoming tougher; and of the faith invested in us as a trusted source of news.” NZ Herald editor Murray Kirkness says the numbers suggest Kiwis see a trusted news source: “In an era where there is a lot of misinformation, we are proud to bring clarity to what is happening in New Zealand and the world. Our readers trust us and we always endeavour to earn that trust.”

For every day of the week (Monday to Saturday) readership has increased on the same period a year ago. With the exception of Thursday, all other days are up on the previous period. The Herald on Sunday remains the best-read and top-selling Sunday newspaper in the country with 328,000 readers. It retains its position for the sixth period in a row, higher in readership than the Sunday News and Sunday Star Times combined.

The Weekend Herald continues to be read by more than half a million readers each week, gaining another 4000 this period for a total of 509,000; an increase of 32,000 from a year ago. Weekend readers spend an average of 49 minutes with the Weekend Herald on Saturday and 43 minutes with the Herald on Sunday.

These figures show that delving into weekend papers remains entrenched in the Kiwi psyche.

Herald magazines Canvas, TimeOut, The Business, Viva and Weekend 0have all increased their readership or remained steady, and seen significant audience growth year on year. Since the last release, Canvas has grown its readers by 9000 to 297,000, and Weekend is now at 294,000, up 8000.

NZME regional daily newspapers reach 140,000 people on a given day, and 247,000 readers a week. The Rotorua Daily

Post, in particular, has increased its readership — by 2000 to reach 15,000 on a typical day.

The enormous reach of the

Herald’s audience across channels and regions gives advertisers a powerful tool, says NZME chief commercial officer Matt Headland.

“When we combine our publications with NZME’s radio and digital offering, it means we can deliver engagement beyond that of our competitors in a uniquely cohesive, strategic and successful way,” Headland says.