Philippine newspapers see readership growth in affluent demographics

Posted by Simon Day on July 31, 2009 at 10:03 AM

The Philippine newspaper industry is healthy and growing, as a recent study by market research firm Synovate revealed a continued readership growth in the upscale market, BusinessWorld online reported Friday.

Synovate's global executive director, Steve Garton, announced yesterday that readership in A and B classes was up 64 percent from March to May. This comes on top of a 59 percent increase from November 2008 to January of this year.

"It's time to debunk the myth that newspapers are dying (here). They are not," he said.

The overall readership increase was slightly reduced with 34 percent growth for the most recent period next to 37 percent growth for the proceeding three month analysis. This drop was due to declines in the D and E segments, where lesser purchasing power exists compared with the more affluent categories.

"This is a good thing. In today's economy, advertisers are looking for efficient targeting of people. Print has an advantage because it is increasingly a target of the upper-socio," Garton said.

However, the Philippine print industry has shared similar advertising woes as its international counterparts. A Nielsen Media Research study revealed that print publications capture just 5 percent of an estimated P40.7 billion spent on advertising in the first quarter.

Synovate also discovered a 24 percent increase in office readership numbers, up from an 11 percent growth in the period before.

"This is a very good story for newspapers," Garton said, according to the Manila Bulletin.