Inquirer still No. 1 in nationwide readership

The Philippine Daily Inquirer remains the country’s most read newspaper, according to the latest survey by The Nielsen Co.

The latest Nielsen Media Index/Consumer and Media Views survey, covering the third quarter of 2012, found that the Inquirer is the newspaper of choice of 47.5 percent of respondents nationwide who had read a newspaper the day before. The Inquirer is way ahead of the Manila Bulletin (33.7 percent) and the Philippine Star (33.2 percent).

“Being the most read newspaper in the country has always served as an inspiration for all the men and women of the Inquirer to strive for the best,” Inquirer chief operating officer Rene R. Reinoso said.

“This commitment to excellence in delivering the news and information to all socioeconomic classes has been the cornerstone in every engagement with our community of readers,” Reinoso said. “We thank all our news dealers for their diligence and hard work as knowledge providers, our advertisers for always believing in the power of our reach, and our readers for making us their newspaper of choice.”

The Inquirer topped readership in the Visayas, where it took 63 percent, compared to 47.8 percent for the Star and 9.42 percent for the Bulletin.

The Inquirer also led the other papers in Mindanao, capturing 57.2-percent readership, followed by the Bulletin (38.6 percent) and the Star (21.4 percent).

In Luzon, Inquirer readership was at 42 percent, followed by the Star (38.7 percent) and the Bulletin (23.4 percent).

Among classes, the Inquirer was also the broadsheet of choice among the AB class, at 49.29 percent, followed by the Bulletin (38.57 percent) and the Star (33.57 percent).

The Inquirer also led among members of class C1, with a readership of 50 percent, ahead of the Bulletin (37.38 percent) and the Star (27.67 percent).

The survey, conducted from July to September, covered 8,000 respondents in Metro Manila; the cities of Baguio, Dagupan, Olongapo, Angeles, Antipolo, Cavite, San Pablo, Legazpi, Tuguegarao, Puerto Princesa and Malolos in Luzon; the cities of Cebu,  Iloilo, Bacolod, Dumaguete and Tacloban in the Visayas; and the cities of Davao, Iligan, Zamboanga, General Santos and Cagayan de Oro in  Mindanao.

The survey had a margin of error of plus-minus 1.1 percentage points.

The Nielsen Co. has been providing various industries with advertising intelligence, media metrics and advanced analytical tools for more than 30 years. Inquirer Research

First posted 7:26 pm | Saturday, December 1st, 2012