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The definitive guide to the global newspaper industry, in numbers, trends and changes.
World Press Trends 2016: Facts and Figures
World Press Trends 2016: Facts and Figures
Global newspaper industry revenues
Circulation vs. advertising revenue
In line with the trend we identified last year, audiences continue to contribute the majority of revenues for news media companies. In 2015, global newspapers and news media generated an estimated US$ 168 billion in circulation and advertising revenue. $89 billion came from print and digital circulation, while $79 billion came from advertising.
While print advertising revenue’s share decreases, content is increasingly becoming the key source of revenue for many publishers. The traditional dual revenue model is evolving into something more complex, and diversification strategies such as events, news brands’ e-commerce and full service marketing agency initiatives have entered the picture.
Print vs. digital revenue
Digital advertising revenue continues to grow significantly worldwide (7.3 per cent in 2015 and 51 per cent over five years), even though it still represents a relatively small part – 6 per cent – of overall newspaper revenue. Meanwhile revenue from digital circulation continues to grow at a double-digit rate, having increased 31 per cent in 2015.
The growth in newspapers’ digital revenues is still far from challenging print as their main source of revenue: more than 92 per cent of all newspaper revenue comes from print.
Circulation
Global circulation and reach
Print circulations continue to decline in the west, but globally circulation levels grew by over 5 percent in 2015 and more than 21 per cent over five years. The increase is largely the result of strong print markets in India and elsewhere in Asia.
WAN-IFRA estimates that about 2.7 billion people around the world read newspapers in print. Meanwhile, more than 1.3 billion, or about 40 per cent of global internet users, read newspapers online.
Circulation: regional trends
The different regions are seeing very diverse circulation trends: Asia continues to enjoy growth in sales, while other continents had varying rates of declining circulations.
Top 10 paid-for dailies
| Title | Country | Language | Circulation (000) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Yomiuri Shimbun | Japan | Japanese | 9101 |
| 2 | The Asahi Shimbun | Japan | Japanese | 6622 |
| 3 | USA Today | USA | English | 4139 |
| 4 | Dainik Bhaskar | India | Hindi | 3818 |
| 5 | Dainik Jagran | India | Hindi | 3308 |
| 6 | The Mainichi Newspapers | Japan | Japanese | 3166 |
| 7 | Cankao Xiaoxi | China | Chinese | 3073 |
| 8 | Amar Ujala | India | Hindi | 2935 |
| 9 | The Times of India | India | English | 2836 |
| 10 | The Nikkei | Japan | Japanese | 2729 |
Digital Media Consumption
Paid digital circulation
Although digital circulation still represents a small part of newspapers’ overall revenues, in many countries it is now making up for lost print circulation revenues. However, in many countries the growth has stopped or plateaued, and it appears that digital news providers are struggling to grow the total market for paid digital news.
Source: PwC