RESTON, Va., March 13, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the results of a study of the differences in online behavior among heavy, medium, light and non-newspaper readers (segments defined below). The results showed that non-newspaper readers are likely to be younger, and they are actually heavier than average online news consumers. Meanwhile, heavy newspaper readers are more likely than average to engage with traditional print news brands online.

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"That current generations are growing up getting their news online for free is an indicator that print circulations are likely to continue their decline," said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore. "But the Internet represents a significant opportunity to extend -- and even improve upon -- existing news brands and reach out to new consumers with living, breathing real-time content. Just because print circulations are declining does not mean there are fewer news consumers. In fact, just the opposite is true."

Younger News Consumers Less Likely to Read Print Newspapers

Heavy print newspaper readers show a strong skew towards older age segments, while the non-newspaper reader segments skew younger. Those age 65 and older are nearly 3 times more likely (index of 296) than average to read the print edition of newspapers 6 times per week, while those age 18-24 are 38 percent more likely than average to not read a print newspaper at all during a typical week.

    Demographic Profile of Print Newspaper Reader Segments
    Summer 2007
    Total U.S. - Persons 18+, Home/Work Locations
    Source: comScore Plan Metrix
                                             Composition Index
                                    Heavy      Medium       Light       Non-
    Age Demographic                                                   Readers
    18+ yrs old (Total               100         100         100         100
    Audience)
    18-24 yrs old                     31          80         139         138
    25-34 yrs old                     51          87         106         127
    35-44 yrs old                     73         110         107         109
    45-54 yrs old                    116         123          90          76
    55-64 yrs old                    186         100          80          71
    65+ yrs old                      296          60          49          37

    *Composition Index = Percent of Newspaper Reader Segments/Percent of
     Internet Users x 100; Index of 100 represents parity.

Non-Newspaper Readers are Heavy Online News Consumers

In order to better understand the news consumption habits of these heavy medium, light and non-print newspaper reader segments, comScore looked at their relative propensity to visit several key news sources online, using a selection of key print, TV, and Internet news brands.

Several key takeaways emerged from this study. First, it is clear that based on their heavier than average visitation across most key news sites, those who do not read print versions of newspapers are not necessarily light news consumers. In fact, they show a high propensity to visit the majority of sites studies, including print (e.g. LA Times), TV (e.g. FoxNews.com), and Internet (e.g. Topix.com) brands.

Secondly, both the heavy print newspaper readers and the non-readers show similarly heavy consumption of print news brands online, which suggests that print news sites are not merely an extension of their offline brands but have a stand-alone brand presence in the online world. For example, the Web sites for three of the largest U.S. city newspapers -- the New York Times, LA Times and Chicago Tribune -- show above average visitation from both heavy newspaper readers and non-readers.

Finally, TV news brands are also heavily visited by non-print newspaper readers, underscoring the importance of sight, sound and motion to the digital news experience. Non-readers were 29 percent more likely than the average Internet user to visit FoxNews.com and 15 percent more likely to visit CBS News Digital.

    General News Site Visitation among Print Newspaper Reader
    Segments
    Summer 2007
    Total U.S. - Persons 18+, Home/Work Locations
    Source: comScore Plan Metrix
                                              Composition Index
                                      Heavy     Medium       Light      Non-
                                                                      Readers
    Print News Brands
    NYTIMES.COM                        103         85          91        104
    WSJ.COM                            147         41         119        106
    WASHINGTONPOST.COM                 109         58         101         95
    LA Times                           109         98          95        112
    Chicago Tribune                    106         94          93        108
    TV News Brands
    MSNBC                               99         95         112        106
    CNN                                 82         93          90        109
    FOXNEWS.COM                        104         90          82        129
    CBS NEWS Digital                   113        106         110        115
    ABCNEWS DIGITAL                     94         88          84        102
    Internet News Brands
    Google News Search                  82         99          95        118
    AOL News                           109         99         106         94
    Yahoo! News                         94        106          99         99
    TOPIX.COM                           82        105         116        124
    DIGG.COM                            75        102         122        102

     *Composition Index = Percent of Newspaper Reader Segments/Percent of
      Internet Users x 100; Index of 100 represents parity.

"Non-newspaper readers are a particularly important segment to reach because they are heavier than average news consumers -- they just prefer to consume it in a digital format," continued Flanagan. "That they are receptive to print, TV, and Internet news brands indicates a broad opportunity online, but the brands that will ultimately win over these key news consumers are the ones that successfully integrate cutting edge digital content with high quality journalism."

Print Newspaper Reader Segment Definitions

Segments were defined based on the number of days respondents said they read a print version of a newspaper in an average week, excluding the Sunday edition.

    Heavy Newspaper Readers: 6 times per week
    Medium Newspaper Readers: 3-5 times per week
    Light Newspaper Readers: 1-2 times per week
    Non Newspaper Readers: 0 times per week

About comScore Plan Metrix

comScore Plan Metrix is the only service to combine continuously observed Internet behavior measurement with comprehensive attitudinal, lifestyle and product usage data from the same representative consumer panel, providing agencies, advertisers and media sellers with access to comprehensive consumer information, including: technology ownership and usage, demographic, lifestyle, attitudinal, product purchase and offline media consumption data.

To request more information on comScore Plan Metrix, please visit http://www.comscore.com/contact

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. For more information, please visit http://www.comscore.com/boilerplate.

SOURCE comScore, Inc.

http://www.comscore.com

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