TODAY’s readership rises, bucking newspaper trend

SINGAPORE — Bucking the trend of declining readership among newspapers, TODAY has increased its readership to 548,000 — up 19,000 from last year — as it retained its position as the second-most-read daily newspaper in Singapore, based on the latest Nielsen Singapore Media Index released yesterday.

The Nielsen report showed that combined readership of print and online newspapers reached close to 58.2 per cent of the population, down 3.6 percentage points from last year. Seven out of 10 daily newspapers — including The Straits Times, The New Paper and My Paper — saw their combined readership fall. TODAY, the Business Times and Tamil Murasu posted increases in their readership and reach.

The Nielsen report was based on a survey of 4,660 of Singaporeans aged 15 and above, conducted between July last year and June this year.

The reach of The Straits Times — which remains the most-read news daily here — fell by one percentage point to 29 per cent, with its readership dropping to about 1.23 million, a decline of 23,000 readers. The New Paper (TNP) saw a readership decline of 39,000 to 271,000 while My Paper’s readership fell to 190,000, losing 48,000 readers.

Last month, Singapore Press Holdings announced that it will be laying off employees and merging My Paper and TNP to form a revamped TNP, due to headwinds in the industry and difficult economic conditions.

TODAY extended its reach by 0.3 percentage point to 12.9 per cent. On an average daily basis, TODAY’s print edition and the digital version reach 11.4 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively, of the adult population. About three in four readers (73.9 per cent) earn a monthly household income of S$5,000 and above. More than two in five readers (45.3 per cent) are professionals, managers, executives and businessmen (PMEBs).

The Nielsen report said that printed newspapers remained the staple read for one in two adults (50.7 per cent), while digital newspapers were read by 14.9 per cent of Singaporean readers on an average daily basis.

Monthly Internet usage continued to grow — from 79.5 per cent last year to 83.3 per cent this year — with increases mainly from instant messaging, watching movies/television/videos and news or e-newspapers access. The report also showed that, every week, over nine in 10 (91.7 per cent) adults read local print newspapers or watched local television broadcasts.

Nielsen Singapore managing director (media) Annette Kunst said: “In spite of the increased Internet penetration in Singapore and the availability of a wide potpourri of online content globally, homegrown news and entertainment content remain a fundamental source of information to the Singapore audience as they provide a local perspective and flavour.”

She added: “As audiences continue to consume both offline and online content, local media owners stay connected with their integrated offerings.”