Jakarta – Print media has enjoyed ever-increasing revenue from advertising, but now faces a looming danger that could put the industry's sustainability into serious doubt – a decline in readership, a survey revealed Thursday.
Newspapers, magazines and tabloids all suffered a year-on-year drop in reader numbers in the third quarter of 2008, ACNielsen Indonesia said in its latest media survey.
"As shown by the Nielsen Media Index, in terms of readership decline, magazines are experiencing the worst of it," Asia-Pacific regional director Mark Neely said.
The survey, carried out in nine major cities across the nation and projected to represent a population of 42 million, showed magazines suffered from a 24 percent decline in readership from the same period a year earlier.
Tabloids and newspapers also saw a drop, albeit in smaller amounts, with their readership declining by 12 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
Thursday's revelation confirms a declining trend in print media readership, which ACNielsen says has been underway since 2004.
The survey cited three reasons for the decline: Readers were either too busy to read (72 percent), switched more often to television (14 percent), or were turned off by rising prices (11 percent).
With less free time and a dislike of the ever-increasing price of print media, the survey went on, readers were turning more and more to the Internet. This phenomenon could explain the sixfold increase in the number of Internet users since 2005, the survey suggested.
But despite declining readership, print media still has plenty to cheer about, most notably the ever-growing revenue from advertisements.
Mass media, including television, enjoyed a hefty 22 percent increase in advertising revenue during the first nine months of the year, the survey showed, totaling Rp 31 trillion (US$2.6 billion).
All forms of media enjoyed growth, with newspapers recording the biggest boost, 34 percent, to bring in Rp 10.1 trillion during the period. Ad revenue for television, while only growing by 16 percent, still raked in a considerable Rp 19.7 trillion.
Magazine and tabloid ad revenue rose by 25 percent and 30 percent to take in Rp 864 billion and Rp 401 billion, respectively.
The major advertisers were telecommunication firms, which spent more than Rp 3 trillion, a 75 percent rise from the same period last year. Government and political organizations came in second, spending Rp 1.4 trillion, 74 percent higher than in 2007.
PT Excelcomindo Pratama, the nation's third largest cellular phone operator, ranked as the company with the highest ad spending, shelling out Rp 302 billion – three times more than it spent last year. (dis)