August 24, 2016updated 30 Aug 2016 8:55am

Independent readership up 46 per cent while mobile offers biggest audience for some

The Independent has grown its audience by 46 per cent year-on-year after moving to a digital-only model in March and closing its print edition, the latest readership figures show.

The title has added 6.6m readers to its total daily audience across online and mobile over the last year, up to 21.2m, according to Published Audience Measurement Company (PAMco) data.

The Daily Mail recorded a total audience readership of 30.6m, the biggest among UK titles, for the year to June – up 4 per cent on the year before.

The Daily Express boosted its audience by 42 per cent year-on-year to 14.7m. The Evening Standard was up by 35 per cent year-on-year.

Christian Broughton, editor of The Independent, said: “Month after month, the figures have demonstrated how the singular focus on digital is working for us.

“We have more readers now than we had before we went digital-only, and more paying subscribers too, via our Daily Edition app.

“It’s been an amazing summer for news and the team have risen to every challenge, showing that the core values of The Independent are thriving in a new era.”

Mobile is now the single biggest provider of audience for more than half of the 27 news brands surveyed in the latest readership figures for mobile and tablet. It has seen an 11 per cent increase year-on-year across the market.

On the whole, published media – including news brands and magazines – is consumed by 95 per cent of British adults across print, online, mobile and tablet, within a month.

Simon Redican, PAMco chief executive, said: “The Published Media sector has invested huge amounts in distributing its remarkable and diverse content and the latest audience measurement figures show this strategy is paying dividends.

“Mobile is delivering record audiences with an annual growth of 11 per cent, leading to many brands having a bigger reach than at any time in their history.”

The Independent now has an editorial team of more than 100. Offices are due to open in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe, with expansion in the US continuing, a spokesperson said.