Print Measurement Bureau and NADbank boards agree to merge organizations and studies

To adjust to the changing realities of the research marketplace and to more efficiently gather and analyze both print media data and results of ongoing research into digital audiences, the Print Measurement Bureau (PMB) and NADbank have decided tentatively to merge their two studies and ultimately their two organizations. The result would be a combined print and digital study from one organization.

PMB has long been the accepted standard for readership and purchase information about Canadian magazines. NADbank has been primarily concerned with readership and purchase data for newspapers. A memorandum to members of PMB says that the boards of the two organizations have agreed -- subject to approval at special membership meetings -- to proceed with a proposal made by TNS, the research supplier to both. First data is expected to be available in the new, combined format in early 2015.

"The proposed new study builds on the strengths of the PMB and NADbank studies which are both internationally recognized as Gold Standard in their field," [said the memorandum] "The new study will contain all the information currently in the PMB and NADbank studies including data on the digital footprint of print vehicles. This will be achieved with no sacrifice of data quality, but with substantial savings through fieldwork efficiencies and the use of advanced data techniques such as congruent fusion and data calibration. 

"Further, the new combined study is designed as a platform to allow for broader research guidance for PMB members in areas such as media engagement, path-to-purchase data and linkages to external databases."

Newspaper readership is holding up, says NADbank study

Just released data from the Newspaper Audience Databank (NADbank) for selected markets shows that newspaper readership remains strong, with over 75% of the population reading a daily each week.

This is particularly true in the most competitive markets in Toronto, Ottawa-Gatineau, Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, according to a story in Media in Canada.

Ottawa-Gatineau led the pack with an 82% over-18 readership of printed or online edition of a daily newspaper. Calgary followed with 79%, Vancouver at 78%, Montreal and Edmonton respectively at 77%, and Toronto at 76%.(The Calgary CMA and Edmonton CMA readership reports include 24 hours and Metro results for the first time.)

Online readership grew with the highest weekly reach in Ottawa-Gatineau (24%), followed by Toronto at 22% and Calgary at 18%.

The new readership results cover 28 Canadian daily newspapers. The Toronto Star led in weekly readership, La Presse in Montreal, the Ottawa Citizen in Ottawa-Gatineau, the Calgary Herald in Calgary, the Edmonton Journal and The Province in Vancouver.

Growth in newspaper readership almost wholly due to free commuter papers

The good news for people invested in print is that newspaper average weekday readership in Canada is up, according to 2007 readership results released by the Newspaper Audience Databank Inc. (NADbank). The less good news is that almost all of that growth is due to to free, commuter dailies like Metro and 24 Hours. The NADbank study also found that online readership of newspapers is growing and is highest in St. John's, Nfld., where 27 per cent of adults read an online edition each week.

In the highly competitive Toronto market, according to a story in the Toronto Star, Metro's readership jumped 16.6 per cent to 434,600, making it the second leading paper in this city behind the Star. The number of Toronto adults reading a printed edition of any daily newspaper on the average weekday increased by 1.8 per cent to 1,999,300.

Torstar Corp. publishes the Star and owns half of Metro. Rival freebie 24 Hours, owned by Quebecor's Sun Media Corp., mustered a 0.8 per cent increase to 348,500 readers.

Nearly half of surveyed adults read a printed newspaper on the average weekday; of course that means the other half don't or didn't.

The Star itself reported its average weekday readership, as reflected by the "read yesterday" figures, recorded a 3 per cent decline, to 952,800 in Toronto.

"Given our recent investments in the newspaper, including a major redesign that makes it easier to read and handle, and given the positive response by readers to those investments, we are surprised by this result," said publisher Jagoda Pike. "But given the readership declines seen in most large Canadian markets, the Star is more than holding its own."

The Globe and Mail increased its Toronto readership by 7.3 per cent to 409,300, the Toronto Sun sank by 12.3 per cent to 424,100, and the National Post lost a marginal 0.8 per cent to 223,200.