Below are statements by the following publishers: The Guardian, The Times and Trinity Mirror.
The Guardian
The Guardian has reported record digital traffic in November of 158,511,243 monthly unique browsers, according to digital abc figures released today.
This exceeds the previous record of 140 million monthly unique browsers set in September this year, and marks the seventh record month of online traffic in 2015.
Traffic is up around 14% month-on-month, including off-platform, with significant increases in readers from Europe, as well as strong growth in the US and UK. Year-on-year growth, excluding off-platform traffic, is up over 44%.
November also saw record traffic across other metrics - namely monthly page impressions which nudged the one billion mark, and daily average unique browsers, which tipped eight million. The rise in mobile traffic also continues as November saw an almost 90% year-on-year increase in visitors using mobile phone devices to read our content.
The rolling coverage of the devastating Paris events drew a large number of global readers as people sought up-to-the minute information, clarity and explanations as the crisis unfolded. Reporting ran continuously, passing from the UK offices to the US, to Australia, and back again to ensure readers had a constant source of reliable and timely information.
David Pemsel, chief executive officer, Guardian Media Group said: “These figures demonstrate that when major world events happen, people are increasingly turning to the Guardian for fast, accurate, trusted reporting and intelligent analysis."
The Guardian remains the most trusted news source in the UK according to the latest Ofcom report.
The Times
November figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) show The Times is the only national quality newspaper to be in year-on-year growth for print sales.
Our print sale of 407,566 is the highest Times sale since the 2012 Olympics and represents a 4.7 per cent year-on-year growth.
This is The Times’s highest year-on-year increase since October 2005, the second month of year-on-year growth.
Our results outperform the total sector, which declined by 3 per cent. The Times’s share of the national quality market is at 13.7 per cent, the highest since November 2009.
John Witherow, Editor of The Times, said: “When big news breaks, people turn to the newspapers they trust. The Times was the only newspaper to carry the Paris terror attacks in its first edition and our thorough reporting and analysis of the Chancellor’s Spending Review are two major news events reflected in the November ABC figures.”
Trinity Mirror
Trinity Mirror reported a record Group audience number in November, with more than 109m unique browsers logging on to its portfolio of websites. This represents a year-on-year increase of 22%.
Mirror.co.uk enjoyed its own record month with 77.99m unique browsers, and achieved its highest ever day and week during the course of the month.
Pete Picton, Editorial Director for Mirror.co.uk said: “Our rolling coverage of the Paris terror attacks was a major contributory factor, accounting for more than 14m unique browsers alone.
“All credit goes to the editorial team. Many worked around the clock during their time off to produce timely, concise and informative updates on what was a very fluid news event.
“Our video team also had its best ever month by some distance, with 28.3m unique video views. This is year-on-year growth of 180%, a testament to how the team capture, edit and present videos on Mirror.co.uk.”
The Daily Mirror’s print ABC for November was 825,829, a drop of -1.9% (-16k) from October. This compares to a market fall of -0.6% since last month. The red-top market number has been influenced by the Sun’s investment in spend and save promotions and sampling copies. The Daily Star’s half price offer is another significant influence.
For the first time today, ABC released synchronised data for print and online performance. However, the Daily Mirror’s total audience is best reflected in the latest NRS Padd figures, which combine print and digital numbers and measure people rather than browsers. The Daily Mirror reached an average of 22.9 million people every month across paper, online and mobile according to the figures for the year October 2014 to September 2015, making it the third largest daily newsbrand in the UK.
