The regional newspapers business is undergoing a fundamental shift in readership patterns at the moment, with print circulations falling by 26.6% between 2009 and 2013 and digital daily unique browsers increasing by 116.3% during the same period. Publishers are faced with the challenge of balancing investment in the fast-growing digital sector, which doesn’t yet account for a significant proportion of users or revenues, and maintaining the strength of their print titles, which continue to bring in the majority of readers and revenues.
This report examines the current status of the regional newspapers market, including both print sales volumes and digital user numbers, as well as how print sales are divided between the different types of publication. It also provides an analysis of the leading publishers, including market shares. Finally, it looks at consumer readership, attitudes towards pricing and general attitudes towards regional newspapers. Mintel last reported on this market in Regional Newspapers – UK, March 2013.
Definition
For the purposes of this report, regional newspapers are defined as non-national mornings, evenings, weeklies and Sundays, whether paid-for or distributed free. A loose distinction is made between local and regional newspapers.
Regionals are normally published daily (for instance, the morning Eastern Daily Press or the Manchester Evening News) and cover a specific region/urban centre.
Locals are usually published weekly or, occasionally, bi-weekly and their coverage is more geographically restricted but the distinction is not a formal one.
The term ‘the regional press’ is usually used to cover all non-national newspapers (including regionals and locals, as defined above).
The terms ‘circulation’ and ‘distribution’ refer to the number of copies of a newspaper that are sold or otherwise delivered to consumers. ‘Readership’ refers to the number of consumers who read a newspaper, which will be higher with the addition of pass-on readers. ‘Unique browsers’ refers to the number of individuals who visit a particular website in a given period.
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