ABC figures show regional newspapers performing well online

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/aug/29/abc-figures-regional-newspapers-online

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Regional newspapers might have reported another disappointing set of print sales figures in the first half of this year, but their websites have surged in popularity.

Many regional newspapers reported double-digit readership boosts, compared to a year ago, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations figures published on Wednesday.

Some titles, including the Manchester Evening News and Sunderland Echo, grew their number of daily online readers by a third year on year.

Johnston Press was the fastest-growing regional newspaper group in terms of online readers, as chief executive Ashley Highfield attempts to reorganise the 245-year-old company as a digital-first publisher.

The company's websites, which include Scotsman.com and YorkshireEveningPost.co.uk, attracted 560,721 web browsers a day on average in the first half of 2012, up 29.3% year on year.

Johnston Press's Scotsman website remained the biggest newspaper website reporting figures as part of the ABC regional audit, with 105,959 daily online readers, despite reporting no uplift compared to the first half of 2011.

Trinity Mirror's websites had 538,152 readers a day, according to ABC, up 14.9% from a year ago.

The company's Manchester Evening News site saw daily readers rise 30% year on year, to 99,042, in the first half of 2012.

Growing online readership figures will prove heartening for regional newspaper executives faced with systematic sales declines in print.

However, executives are yet to crack the thorny issue of turning their free-to-view websites into a significant revenue generators.

Highfield, who joined Johnston Press from Microsoft in 2011, has said he wants the newspaper group to make 50% of its money from digital by 2020.

Johnston Press reported an 8.4% rise in digital revenues, to £10.3m, in the first half of 2012. But those encouraging noises were overshadowed by a tumble in print advertising, with adjusted pre-tax profits almost halving to £8m.

Digital revenues at Trinity Mirror's regional group fell 3% in the same period, when the acquisition of email and mobile firm Communicator Corp was stripped out. Its pre-tax profits rose more than 20%, to £35.1m, in the period.

Newsquest's regional newspapers, including the Lancashire Telegraph and Northern Echo, reported a 9.4% year on year rise in daily online readers to 499,292.

Northcliffe's network of regional newspaper websites, which includes thisisnottingham.co.uk and thisisleicestershire.co.uk, saw daily online readers rise 6.3% year on year to 347,319.

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