Global newspaper circulation up

Global newspaper circulation up
11 May, 2007 l 0444 hrs ISTlTIMES NEWS NETWORK
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/Intl_Business/Global_newspaper_circulation_up/articleshow/2030538.cms

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LONDON: Internet and TV channels may be getting an increasing number of eyeballs, but newspapers are holding out to the competition as their circulation rose last year across the world on booming demand in India and China, World Association of Newspapers (WAN) said.

The paid-for newspaper circulation rose by 1.9% over the 12 months and by 8.7% over five years to more than 510 million copies in 2006. Similarly, the number of new paid-for titles crossed 11,000 mark for the first time in the history, WAN said, quoting preliminary data from its World Press Trends survey.

"Circulations continue to grow globally and not just in China and India,” it said, while asserting that these facts and figures have belied various myths about the newspapers, liek “circulations are falling” and “newspaper as a medium and a business is on decline".

India and China played a major role in the rising circulations. Excluding Asia (including India and China), the global paid-for circulation was up just 0.04%.

Across the various sub-continents, Asia recorded a 2.99% growth, second-biggest after South America’s 4.59%. However, North America recorded a decline of 1.97% in the paid-for circulations in 2006. Asia recorded the biggest rise of 6.13% in the number of paid-for titles, as against 3.22% globally and declines in North and South Americas.
Free daily newspaper circulation more than doubled over the five years to 40.8 million copies a day.

Including free newspapers, the circulation rose by a higher rate of 4.3% in one year and by 14.2% over five years. The number of paid-for newspapers and the combined total of free and paid-for titles rose to 510.4 million and 551.2 million in 2006.