News Corp’s print decline arrested by digital gains

News Corp’s Monday to Friday digital sales have increased by 8% YOY, said News Corp CEO Julian Clarke in statement responding to the readership numbers released this week.

The publisher suffered a decline in readership figures but that is offset by the growth in digital readership, he added.

Adding up the figures of its regional and metro titles the audience for the publisher grows to 15.8m each month, reaching to about 89% of the national population over the age 14.

The full statement:

[blockquote]The latest ABC circulation data shows our strong growth in digital subscriptions, with Mon-Fri net paid digital sales up 8% year on year. This includes 9% growth at The Australian and 11% at the Herald Sun.

Although circulation of printed newspapers has declined, it is offset by the ongoing growth of digital readership. Indeed, readership data just released by emma shows that the total audience across our national and metro newspapers remains stable at over 15.1m Australians each month, which is 85% of the population over the age of 14.

When our community titles are added, the audience grows to over 15.8m Australians each month, which is 89% of the population over the age of 14. These numbers affirm our position as Australia’s number one publisher.[/blockquote]