The first full year of data from EMMA shows overall readership stable, with digital growth offsetting print decline.

The first full year of data from the newspaper industry’s readership measurement system EMMA (Enhanced Media Metrics Australia), conducted by Ipsos MediaCT, finds more than half of all print readers also consume a digital newspaper.

EMMA data for the 12 months to June 2014 show the total cross-platform audience of newspapers in Australia at 16.4 million people. Nine out of 10 of those readers consume a printed edition, compared with five out of 10 consuming digital formats (there’s overlap there, obviously).

Today’s data release shows there are are 14.6 million readers of printed newspapers, or around 83% of Australians aged over 14 years.

Print readership declined 4% while an 11% increase in digital consumption of newspapers has stabilised overall readership.

EMMA data across key national, metropolitan and regional papers (excludes community papers) found:

• Total masthead readership (print, desktop, mobile and tablet) is stable, increasing 14.3 million to 14.5 million,
• digital readership is up 11%, from 9.5 million to 10.7 million, and
• print readership is down 4% year on year, from 13.2 million to 12.7 million.

The Newspaper Works CEO, Mark Hollands, says, “One year on, EMMA has proven that the change in newspaper readership dynamics is real and continuing.

“Yes, print is in slow decline but not at the rates some would suggest and digital audiences are growing every month. We have demonstrated that EMMA is a legitimate, robust and accurate audience measurement survey.”

Mal Dale, general manager of The Readership Works, a separate company that oversees the EMMA system, says EMMA would soon launch another series of innovations as Australia’s first cross-platform audience insights survey turns one today. This will build on recent updates to EMMA, including the launch of a new metric named ‘Enagement Quotient’ in June.

Dale said more innovations would launch throughout the year. “We will continue to collaborate with the industry as part of our commitment to continuous innovation. We have been impressed by the ongoing and valuable contribution from the MFA and a number of individual agencies in facilitating further enhancements to the survey, which we plan to make public in the near future.

“We are extremely pleased with the market reaction to EMMA and continue to work closely with the industry to ensure that EMMA meets and exceeds market needs.”

Ipsos MediaCT managing director, Simon Wake says, “Industry transition is well under way and we have been impressed by the ongoing and valuable contribution from our clients in both proposing and facilitating further enhancements to the survey.

“And it’s not just media agencies. We’ve also had considerable interest from a number of advertisers and advertiser sectors that are actively trialling the EMMA data and providing input into the development of the EMMA questionnaire. We look forward to working with our clients in year two and beyond to help navigate the changing media landscape.”

For the print audience data for newspapers, magazines, newspaper-inserted magazines and newspaper sections, as well as total audience reports for the 20 publications that are on board, click here to go to ‘EMMA audience reports June 2014‘.