Latest Roy Morgan readership figures for New Zealand newspapers show some standout results, with some increases well into double figures.

And it’s not all digital growth.

Hawke’s Bay Today put 10,000 on its print readership – bringing it to 54,000 – and 60,000 to its digital audience, an overall increase of 59.5 per cent.

Bay of Plenty Times grew its print audience from 39,000 to 52,000 and added an extra 40,000 to digital (making 132,000) boosting the combined readership 40 per cent to 168,000. And the Northern Advocate put on 20,000 in print readership and 22,000 in digital, boosting overall readership 35.3 per cent to 157,000.

Morgan says that at June this year, 2.7 million New Zealanders read newspapers and more than 1.6 million read magazines. Of those aged over 14, 61.4 per cent now read or access newspapers in an average seven-day period.

The ‘single source’ survey found the New Zealand Herald – reaching a total cross-platform audience of 1.812 million had grown 96,000 or 5.6 per cent. An even bigger increase was that of the Dominion Post, which put on 26,000 – 7.9 per cent in a year – to take a clear second place.

Third placed Otago Daily Times grew its audience by 37,000 (up 13.9 per cent) to 304,000, and fourth-placed The Press was up 3,000 (1.1 per cent) to 267,000.

Filling out the top six was the Waikato Times with an audience of 197,000, an increase of 21,000 (11.9 per cent) on a year ago and Hawke’s Bay Today with an audience of 193,000, up 72,000 (59.5 per cent).

The four other newspapers in the top ten were led by the Sunday Star-Times with an audience of 182,000, ahead of the Bay of Plenty Times, up 48,000 (40 per cent) to 168,000, the Northern Advocate, up 41,000 (35.3per cent) to 157,000, and the Taranaki Daily News, up 7,000 (5.9 per cent) to 125,000.

Top 10 Newspapers – Total 7 Day Cross-Platform Audience (Print & Online):