FT reveals online and print paid-for readership stats
The Financial Times has unveiled a print and digital circulation measure that calculates the total number of people who access paid-for FT content each day.
The FT says the measure is the first of its kind produced by a media owner. Online statistics will be released every quarter in addition to the information on print circulation produced by ABC.
The first set of results for the period 31 May to 4 July shows that at the start of July the average daily global FT circulation was 563,026. The number is made up of average daily newspaper sales and active FT.com and eReader subscriptions.
The initiative follows the debut of the FT’s Average Daily Global Audience measure (Marketing Week 13 May). This tracks the FT’s global readership for people who read FT content every day, whether paid-for or free. The FT’s website offers ten free articles a month before a subscription message and paywall is reached.
John Ridding, chief executive of the FT, says: “Traditional single-channel audience measures only tell part of the story of the FT’s brand health.
Our readers are increasingly platform neutral, consuming FT content in print and online, and our approach to measurement should reflect these new patterns and platforms.”
The latest UK average circulation figures for the FT, released last week, show a drop of 3.41% month on month to 378,497.
Publishers are under pressure to deliver more revenue from their digital operations and to demonstrate levels of reader engagement to potential advertisers.
The debate over charging for online content has been heightened by News International’s decision to charge for access to the Times website, which includes links to The Sunday Times and Times Plus.
Data just released by ComScore reveals that The Times has lost 1.2 million UK readers across the websites in the past three months.
