The Irish newspaper industry will not see as swift a migration from print to online as in the US and other countries, according to a survey of the sector by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Ann O’Connell, partner with PwC Ireland, said newspaper readership here was deep-rooted and that Irish readers were likely to “continue to place a significant value on the commentary and opinion provided by the well-established newspapers”.
She added that newspaper sales in Ireland were not falling as sharply as in other markets although the challenge posed by the collapse in advertising revenues due to the recession was noted.
She said the radical steps being taken by US publishers, such as Seattle Post-Intelligencer– which has switched is publication entirely online – were not being seenin the European newspaper industry.
The report, Moving into multiple business models: outlook for newspaper publishing in the digital age,was based on reader surveys in Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, UK, US and Switzerland and interviews with publishers and media buyers.
It found that consumers were increasingly receiving news content digitally through the spread of internet and mobile technologies.
However, it noted that readers did not enjoy reading long articles on these devices with the result that online or mobile news providers were used for breaking news “but are fairly low on the list of preferences for accessing in-depth data”.
According to the report, this reader experience is one reason why consumers are only prepared to pay a fraction online of what they spend on a printed version.
“Very few newspapers have addressed this issue an developed appropriate strategies to monetise their content and intellectual capital effectively”, the report noted.
Media groups that respond to the new marketplace were likely to gain market share from those firm reliant on more traditional business models, according to PwC.