USA Today just made a dramatic change in the way it reports circulation, adding free digital app users to paid sales so it could once more claim the No. 1 circulation spot among U.S. newspapers. The move boosted USAT's total as of Sept. 30 to a record 2.9 million from 1.7 million a year ago -- a 68% increase.
The two other national newspapers left their formulas unchanged. That resulted in a smaller 14% annual gain for The New York Times, to 2.1 million. The Wall Street Journal saw a 1% decline to 2.3 million. (See this spreadsheet for a complete breakdown.)
But comparing the three papers' figures is hardly apples-to-apples. The NYT's iPad app lets users read only three articles daily for free; after that, they must pay for a digital subscription. The WSJ app also gives readers limited access for free before requiring a paid account.
Not so with USAT, which gives readers free access without any limits. That means more than half the paper's circulation is now unpaid digital. And that doesn't begin to count all those copies provided gratis by hotels, airlines and other bulk buyers.
Why this matters
Historically, the industry told advertisers paid circulation was more valuable than free because readers were more engaged with something they'd spent money on. Indeed, when USAT lost the top circulation spot in 2009, it downplayed the shift by emphasizing that it remained the top selling print paper, partly as a result of its big single-copy sales.
"Single copy newsstand sales," the paper said in a press release, "reflect customers who actively seek out the newspaper each day and pay full newsstand price, which is widely considered the most valuable circulation by advertisers."
Starting next spring, USAT plans to change its strategy again under the Butterfly Project. It will start including potentially millions of circulation when it likely expands distribution of its new daily local edition to about three dozen of Gannett's community dailies.
In announcing that change last week in a memo to staff, Publisher Larry Kramer didn't say whether those editions would be counted as paid.
But to do so, Gannett effectively would be counting each of those dailies twice. For example, The Indianapolis Star would count as one. And the USAT edition -- which is now the Star's second section -- would also get counted as one.
Related: Poynter Institute says USAT's news coverage is "misleading."
Earlier: Find your newspaper's newest circulation figures.
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| USAT's free iPad app |
But comparing the three papers' figures is hardly apples-to-apples. The NYT's iPad app lets users read only three articles daily for free; after that, they must pay for a digital subscription. The WSJ app also gives readers limited access for free before requiring a paid account.
Not so with USAT, which gives readers free access without any limits. That means more than half the paper's circulation is now unpaid digital. And that doesn't begin to count all those copies provided gratis by hotels, airlines and other bulk buyers.
Why this matters
Historically, the industry told advertisers paid circulation was more valuable than free because readers were more engaged with something they'd spent money on. Indeed, when USAT lost the top circulation spot in 2009, it downplayed the shift by emphasizing that it remained the top selling print paper, partly as a result of its big single-copy sales.
"Single copy newsstand sales," the paper said in a press release, "reflect customers who actively seek out the newspaper each day and pay full newsstand price, which is widely considered the most valuable circulation by advertisers."
Starting next spring, USAT plans to change its strategy again under the Butterfly Project. It will start including potentially millions of circulation when it likely expands distribution of its new daily local edition to about three dozen of Gannett's community dailies.
In announcing that change last week in a memo to staff, Publisher Larry Kramer didn't say whether those editions would be counted as paid.
But to do so, Gannett effectively would be counting each of those dailies twice. For example, The Indianapolis Star would count as one. And the USAT edition -- which is now the Star's second section -- would also get counted as one.
Related: Poynter Institute says USAT's news coverage is "misleading."
Earlier: Find your newspaper's newest circulation figures.
Sounds sleazy, but for this senior leadership team, standard operating procedure.
ReplyDeleteYou are living in the past. Advertisers care about eye balls on the prize. With modern tracking tools eye balls can be verified. Paid, unpaid advertisers don't care. Paid is a metric from the past.
ReplyDeleteHowever, digital ad dollars are still much lower than print ad dollars, so they aren't equal in the eyes of advertisers.
DeleteAdvertisers care about ROI. Eyeballs matter not. It's not a quesiton of reach any more - it's engagement.
DeleteI suppose USAT can double count for the same reason a copy of Parade or USA Weekend inserted in someone's Sunday paper is counted separately from the paper it's inside. So this isn't a new situation.
ReplyDeleteGetting a straight answer or explanation from management has always been like wrestling a fish. I suspect the next trick is to count Usa Weekend circ as part of the mix so Heather Frank can keep her job and the rest get their year end bonuses.
DeleteJim, you know better than to write "unpaid digital" and "all those copies provided gratis by hotels, airlines and other bulk buyers." San Francisco doesn't haul away your garbage for free, or inspect the restaurants where you eat for free, or heat the public library for free. All these cost money and you pay for them, even if it's indirectly. To conflate "free access" with "free" is inaccurate and misleading. Whether the hotel paid for your USAT or it billed you, someone paid. You don't like the audit rules. We get it. Just get it right.
ReplyDeleteThe audit "rules" allow for some pretty creative accounting,
ReplyDelete"Creative" is right. New audit rules would make Ponzi schemes seem legit.
Delete"Gannett effectively would be counting each of those dailies twice"
ReplyDeleteActually many subscribers are already counted twice. A paid print subscriber who also uses the digital app is counted 2x. So, that 2.9 million number (even taking into account the free app users) isn't exactly accurate.
Here's the bottom line: advertiser already have this figured out. Management can spin or tweak or position the numbers anyway they want. But, free is free and their ain't no way advertisers will see it any other way!
ReplyDeleteThe empty suits at USAT have spent a lot of time over the years figuring out how to boost circulation numbers without actually having to improve the product. So this latest news doesn't surprise me. Other than the tech changes, the only thing different now as opposed to 10-20 years ago is that the USAT product is seemingly worsening by the month, at least in the opinion of readers who appreciate credible editing, design and news judgment.
ReplyDeleteIts not just news judgement. Its one bad hire after another, one bad promotion after another, and no one willing or able to jettison the incomptetent know nothings.
Delete