The Canadian daily newspaper that replaced its weekday newsprint issues with digital tablet editions in January is reporting an increased readership and “strong” ad sales.
Guy Crevier, publisher of the Montreal-based La Presse, says there has been a 30% growth in readers across the week, including many new young readers.
Some 63% of the La Presse digital audience are adults aged 25-54, compared with 46% for the print version (which continues to be published only on Saturdays).
He also claims that readers are spending between 40 to 60 minutes each day reading the paper’s tablet edition, known as La Presse+.
“This level of engagement is unheard of in the digital media industry,” he writes on the INMA blog.
According to Crevier, advertising revenues for the paper’s digital platforms (tablet, desktop and mobile) now make up 82% of La Presse’s total advertising take.
These results have translated directly into advertising rates comparable to those of legacy print. “We’ve preserved premium advertising rates”, he writes.
“Every day, an average of 260,000 unique tablets connect to La Presse+, a circulation that exceeds our most recent record weekly print circulation of 207,769 in 2009...
“We wanted to make La Presse+ a medium of the future that would offer advertisers and agencies innovative, creative, effective, and measurable ad products that truly meet their new needs. Three years after its launch we’ve achieved our objectives.”
La Presse has continued to support a 260s-strong newsroom staff.
Source: INMA
