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April 13, 2012updated 14 Sep 2012 3:50pm

Survey finds 88 per cent of mag readers prefer print

By Andrew Pugh

 

  • Welsh are most likely to seek out local news on the internet and buy local newspapers
  • Online magazine subscriptions remain flat at just 2 per cent
  • 62 per cent pay more attention to newspaper adverts than online

The overwhelming majority of people prefer to read magazine content in print and just a third of tablet owners use them to access magazines, according to a new study.

Deloitte's sixth annual State of the Media Survey found 88 per cent of people who read magazine content in 2011 preferred to do so in print – a proportion unchanged since 2010.

It found that 2011 was a 'good year for magazines'after 35 per cent of respondents said they subscribed to at least one magazine, up from 29 per cent in 2010.

But despite a sharp rise in the number of tablet devices in the UK, online magazine subscriptions remained flat at just 2 per cent.

Seven per cent of respondents said they preferred to access magazine content via a laptop or PC and the remainder opted for the tablet or smartphone.

The study concluded: 'Deciding whether this is due to the early stages of tablet adoption, or a more fundamental reason related to the mode of use of these devices, will be critical to the magazine industry as they move towards a more digital future."

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The report also revealed that the Welsh were most likely to seek out local news on the internet (40 per cent) but also the least likely to receive and read a free paper (23 per cent).

Welsh consumers were also most likely to listen to local radio services than anywhere else in the UK – with more than 60 per cent doing so at least weekly – and they were most likely to buy a local newspaper, with nearly half (49 per cent) of Welsh consumers doing so at least once a week.

Nationally, around 40 per cent of people said they read a local paper or magazine at least weekly. The over 55s were most likely to buy a local newspaper (62 per cent).

The study found that around two-thirds of respondents read local news, weather or current events on the internet at least weekly in 2011 but that this was down ten per cent from 2010.

It also found consumers were 60 per cent more likely to view this content on the local pages of national websites than on websites dedicated to their local area.

Seventeen per cent of consumers expressed an interest in applications that send localised news to them based on their geographic locations.

Other key findings:

  • The fastest growing device categories were tablets such as Apple's iPad and e-readers such as Amazon's Kindle, with Deloitte estimating five million UK consumers now own an e-reader and three million own a tablet computer.
  • Half of UK consumers said they own a smartphone.
  • 62 per cent said they paid more attention to newspaper adverts than their online equivalents, and 50 per cent said that they discovered websites through newspaper advertising.
  • Two-thirds of respondents watch a local TV news broadcast at least daily including 80 per cent over 55s.
  • London is the least likely region to watch local TV news and access local news online.

The current study is Deloitte's sixth annual State of the Media Democracy survey and questioned 2,276 UK consumers, aged between 14 and 75.

  • To contact the Press Gazette newsdesk call 020 7936 6433 or email pged@pressgazette.co.uk

 

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