Vividata, Canada’s authoritative cross-platform study of media readership, released new research, which confirms that readership levels are consistent with past findings, and it also challenges some common assumptions about current media habits of Canadians.
The data release from Vividata focuses on readership only and covers 67 magazines and 44 major market newspapers, based on fieldwork from April 1, 2016 through to March 31, 2017, with a total sample size of 43,714 Canadians age 12 plus. The Vividata study profiles abroad range of consumers across various regions and demographics.
“The latest Vividata study reaffirms that 92 per cent of Canadian adults continue to read and it also reveals an increase in digital readership as publishers introduce new digital formats,” shared Sara Hill, President and CEO of Vividata. “This latest release provides new insights about reading behaviours, ranging from mediaphiles to media grazers.“
For newspapers, overall readership levels are consistent with past reported findings. It’s how and what consumers are reading that is most interesting:
- While print remains the dominant platform for newspapers across all age groups, the transition to multiple digital platforms and business models is escalating.
- Readership habits of Boomers (born 1946-1965) are not as deeply rooted in print formats as in the past, with 59 per cent reading newspapers or magazines on digital devices.
- Contrary to assumptions that readership of magazines and newspapers by Millennials (born 1982-1999) is shrinking, Vividata research reveals 89 per cent are still reading print.
- Sixty three per cent of Milliennials access digital content for newspapers through social media, while 54 per cent of Boomers choose to go directly to the newspaper’s web site.
- Among digital newspaper readers, 83 per cent of Millennials use a smartphone, while a surprising 44 per cent of Boomers use a smartphone.
A full breakdown of topline newspapers readership numbers can be read here.
