Online and print readership statistics could be merged, depending on the results of a trial currently underway with the National Readership Survey.
The body – which provides the most authoritative estimates of printed newspaper and magazine readerships – has appointed the research specialists RSMB and UKOM/Nielson to see whether a combined print-online measurement could work successfully in the future.
If the six-month test is successful, NRS will decide if it should become a permanent feature of regular readership surveys. It would enable publishers and media buyers to assess both print and online audiences together for the first time.
