Table of Contents
Overview
-
- What you need to know
- Products covered in this Report
Executive Summary
-
- The market
- Print circulation declines by 8% in 2017
-
- Figure 1: Forecast for annual circulation of print regional newspapers in the UK, 2013-23
- Browser numbers grow by 18%
-
- Figure 2: Forecast for the volume of daily unique browsers of regional newspaper digital networks, 2013-23
- New government review explores helping regional journalism
- Advertising revenue under threat from GDPR
- Regional newspapers protest Data Protection Bill amendments
- Key players
- Trinity Mirror rebrands as Reach
- Newsquest buys NWN Media and CN Group
- Circulation for top dailies decline by 11%
- The consumer
- There continues to be very few people paying for online regional newspapers
-
- Figure 3: Types of regional newspapers read, May 2018
- Directly visiting a newspaper is the main way people discover online regional news
-
- Figure 4: Methods of discovering regional newspaper articles, May 2018
- Nearly six in ten would like more in-depth articles
-
- Figure 5: Regional newspaper behaviour, May 2018
- One in five trusts all the regional papers they read
-
- Figure 6: Trust in regional newspapers, May 2018
- Two in three believe regional newspapers play an important role in keeping people informed
-
- Figure 7: Attitudes towards regional newspapers, May 2018
- What we think
Issues and Insights
-
- People are willing to register with regional newspapers online
- The facts
- The implications
- Opportunities to appeal to younger readers
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
-
- Print circulation declines by 8% in 2017
- Browser numbers grow by 18%
- New government review explores helping regional journalism
- Advertising revenue under threat from GDPR
- Regional newspapers protest Data Protection Bill amendments
Market Size and Forecast
-
- Print circulation declines by 8% in 2017
-
- Figure 8: Forecast for annual circulation of print regional newspapers in the UK, 2013-23
- Figure 9: Forecast for annual circulation of print regional newspapers in the UK, 2013-23
- Browser numbers grow by 18%
-
- Figure 10: Forecast for the volume of daily unique browsers of regional newspaper digital networks, 2013-23
- Figure 11: Forecast for the volume of daily unique browsers of regional newspaper digital networks, 2013-23
- Forecast methodology
Market Drivers
-
- New government review explores helping regional journalism
- Advertising revenue under threat from GDPR
- Code of conduct could be created for major events
- Regional newspapers protest Data Protection Bill amendments
- Full breakdown of BBC’s allocations released
- Johnston Press increases cover prices at more than 40 newspapers
Key Players – What You Need to Know
-
- Trinity Mirror rebrands as Reach
- Newsquest buys NWN Media and CN Group
- Circulation for top dailies declines by 11%
- Big declines at paid weekly titles, while free weeklies are stable
- The Evening Standard looks to broaden online readership beyond Londoners
- The Press Association produces first robot generated stories
- Google-backed schemes sees Manchester Evening News use beacons for hyper-local news
Market Share
-
- Trinity Mirror rebrands as Reach
- Newsquest buys NWN Media and CN Group
- Circulation for top dailies declines by 11%
-
- Figure 12: Average print circulation for leading print daily titles, 2016-17
- Big declines at paid weekly titles, while free weeklies are stable
-
- Figure 13: Average circulation of top paid weekly regional newspapers, 2016 and 2017
- Figure 14: Average circulation of top ten free weekly regional newspapers, 2016 and 2017
- Johnston Press grows online network by 10%
- The Evening Standard looks to broaden online readership beyond Londoners
-
- Figure 15: Leading regional online networks, daily unique browsers, 2016 and 2017
Launch Activity and Innovation
-
- Cornwall Live looks to incorporate more positive news
- Trinity Mirror using new metric to understand loyal readers
- Google-backed scheme sees Manchester Evening News use beacons for hyper-local news
- The Press Association produces first robot-generated stories
- Northern newspapers unite over rail service
- MEN livestreams Greater Manchester Run
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
-
- Nearly half read daily regional newspapers at least once a week
- Six in ten use a smartphone to read digital regional newspapers
- Directly visiting a newspaper is the main way people discover online regional news
- Nearly six in ten would like more in-depth articles
- One in five trust all the regional papers they read
- Two in three believe regional newspapers play an important role in keeping people informed
Formats of Regional Newspapers Read
-
- Nearly half read daily regional newspapers at least once a week
-
- Figure 16: Frequency of reading daily regional newspapers, May 2017 and 2018
-
- Figure 17: Frequency of reading weekly regional newspapers, May 2017 and May 2018
- Paid digital readers still a small minority
-
- Figure 18: Types of regional newspapers read, May 2018
Devices Used to Read Regional Newspapers
-
- Six in ten use a smartphone to read digital regional newspapers
-
- Figure 19: Devices used to read regional newspapers, May 2018
-
- Figure 20: Repertoire of devices used to read regional newspapers, May 2018
- Smart speakers present opportunities for audio reporting
Methods of Discovering Regional Newspaper Articles
-
- Directly visiting a newspaper site/app is the main way people discover online regional news
- Facebook’s News Feed change presents further challenges
-
- Figure 21: Methods of discovering regional newspaper articles, May 2018
-
- Figure 22: Methods of discovering regional newspaper articles, any rank, by age, May 2018
- Government to review Facebook and Google’s impact on regional newspapers
Regional Newspaper Preferences
-
- Nearly six in ten would like more in-depth articles
-
- Figure 23: Regional newspaper preferences, May 2018
- More than half are interested in receiving news updates about places they are near
- Over half are willing to register online
- 16-24-year-olds would like more interactive animations
Trust in Regional Newspapers
-
- One in five trust all the regional papers they read
-
- Figure 24: Trust in regional newspapers, May 2018
-
- Figure 25: Trust in regional newspapers versus national newspapers, May 2018
Attitudes towards Regional Newspapers
-
- Two in three believe regional newspapers play an important role in keeping people informed
-
- Figure 26: Attitudes towards regional newspapers, May 2018
- Nearly half of people want more feel-good stories
- There is resistance to articles being written by AI
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
-
- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
-
- Market forecasts
-
- Figure 27: Forecast for volume of annual print regional newspapers in the UK, 2018-23
- Figure 28: Forecast for volume of daily unique browsers of regional newspaper digital networks, 2018-23
- Forecast methodology
Back to top