Drobil: Austria's readership metrics should include freesheets

Posted by Alexandra Zeumer on December 8, 2008 at 1:21 AM

Paid and free newspapers should be counted equally under Austria's readership survey, said Peter Drobil, president of the Austrian Marketing Organisation and head of advertising at Bank Austria, Newspaper Innovation reported.

Not allowing free newspapers to be counted in Media Analyse surveys is a hindrance to finding the actual reach of all newspapers, he told Die Presse.

Drobil made his statements at a seminar that presented research about paid local and free weeklies, Die Presse reported.

Circulation audits by AÖK also do not include freesheets, although they have an estimated market share of nearly 25 percent in the country, Newspaper Innovation reported.