Regional Newspapers - UK - July 2018

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