Philippine Daily Inquirer widens lead in readership

BROADSHEET READERSHIP Results of survey on people regarding the broadsheets they read “yesterday.” INFOGRAPHIC BY L.A. MISTADES

Firming up its position as the country’s No. 1 newspaper, the Philippine Daily Inquirer established a huge lead in readership over its rivals in nearly all socioeconomic classes and urban areas of the country in the latest survey by The Nielsen Co.

Results of the Nielsen Media Index/Consumer and Media Views survey for the whole of  2011, which were released late last month, showed that the Inquirer was the broadsheet of choice of nearly half of Filipinos in National Urban Philippines, which covers Metro Manila and 21 key cities in the country.

Asked what newspaper they read the day before, 48.2 percent of the total respondents picked the Inquirer. Lagging behind were Manila Bulletin, which was chosen by 34.6 percent of the respondents, and Philippine Star by 32.1 percent. (The figures add up to more than 100 percent because multiple responses were allowed.)

According to Nielsen, the readership percentages translate to 866,000 daily readers for the Inquirer, 621,000 readers for Bulletin, and 577,000 readers for Star.

“We are elated with the latest results and we thank our readers for their continued support,” said Inquirer president and CEO Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez.

“I’m thankful that we have readers who are very active in writing to us and telling us what they like and how we can improve the paper,” she said. “Through the years, particularly last year, we have introduced many improvements in the paper that served our readers better.”

Romualdez also thanked the Inquirer dealers and partners for constantly “thinking of ways to get the paper to readers earlier and faster.”

“We also recognize the efforts of our editorial and circulation team for working hard in serving the needs of our readers,” she added. “With the increased usage of many forms of media, it is nice to see that newspapers are still relevant in the lives of the public.”

The Inquirer’s big lead in readership was most pronounced in areas outside Metro Manila.

In the Visayas, the Inquirer enjoyed a 78.4-percent readership, compared to Star’s 19.3 percent and Bulletin’s 9.3 percent.

In areas of Luzon outside Metro Manila, the Inquirer was read by 44.2 percent of the respondents, Bulletin by 32.7 percent, and Star by 26.3 percent.

The Inquirer was also the newspaper of choice in Mindanao, with a readership share of 51 percent, followed by Star (45.8 percent) and Bulletin (13.7 percent).

The Inquirer was also the most read newspaper across the four major socioeconomic classes: 44.5 percent of AB (upper and middle classes); 45.8 percent of C1 (lower middle class), 44.2 percent of C2 (working class), and 52.6 percent of D (lower class).

For 45.3 percent of broadsheet readers in Classes ABC1 nationwide, the Inquirer was the top broadsheet among those who read a newspaper the day before.

Among respondents belonging to Classes ABC1, the Inquirer enjoyed a a 41.3-percent readership in Metro Manila, 73.3-percent readership in the Visayas, and 61.1-percent readership in Mindanao.

The survey, which had margin of error of plus-or-minus 1 percentage point, involved 8,220 respondents aged 10 years and older from all socioeconomic classes in Metro Manila.

The survey covered 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.

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