Nielsen//NetRatings announced a report that found a fifth of online users who read newspapers now rely primarily on web editions.
The research focused on web users who consume newspapers and excluded online users who got their news from other online news and information sources.
Nielsen//NetRatings found that 21 percent of web users who read newspapers have transferred their readership primarily to online editions. Seventy-two percent of online newspaper consumers still access print editions. The study found that seven percent of newspaper readers split their time evenly between offline and online editions.
NYTimes.com led with 11.3 million unique visitors during May 2005. USAToday.com followed with 9.2 million readers and WashingtonPost.com with 7.4 million viewers.
"A significant percentage of newspaper readers have transferred their preference from print to online editions. Accordingly, many online editions now feature original content and have developed an online strategy that includes online message boards and editorial blogs, which leverage the medium's strengths of interactivity and immediacy," says Gerry Davidson, senior media analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings.
"This trend is unmistakable -- and it helps illustrate why major newspaper holding companies are buying digital marketing companies, like Gannett buying PointRoll and Scripps buying Shopzilla. In the past, many publishers feared cannibalization of their traditional outlets by theirs and others' online assets. However, now that more newspapers are realizing the power of their brands online and seeing significant revenue gains through their web properties, we expect the oldest and most well-respected names in media to become the biggest winners online too," says Shawn Riegsecker, president, Intégrent.
The study also found that men make up 53 percent of online newspaper readers.
"Not surprisingly, the top online newspapers tend to be located in metropolitan cities where both population and broadband access rates are higher, which correlates with greater webpage consumption," adds Davidson.