FT to Market Audience Measurement Solution

In the UK, the Financial Times (FT) has launched a model that measures the number of people who read its news in print and online, which it is hoping to roll out across the newspaper industry.

Its new Average Daily Global Audience (ADGA) service uses a combination of sources including syndicated national and regional readership surveys, unique user and browser data, FT research based on large samples of its reader/user base, and ABC circulation figures.

Duplicated consumption is removed, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) - which also audits the FT's ABC figures - independently checks the data.

The FT says its new measure has been developed to meet the needs of media partners seeking more 'comprehensive and relevant' audience analysis across the industry. The publisher adds that the rapid expansion of digital channels has meant that 'traditional, single-channel audience measures' have failed to keep pace with the reality of readership patterns.

ADGA was run on May and November 2009 data, and the aim is to continue on a six-monthly basis, and to increase the number of channels.

'ADGA offers our clients and their agencies a new way to better understand and quantify our audience in a multi-platform environment,' stated Global Research Director Anita Hague. 'We hope it will appeal to other media owners as a useful tool to capture the true number of readers and users of content, in print and online.'

Separately, the FT has launched a beta test of a new iPad application which will provide subscribers with news, analysis and comment laid out in sections similar to FT.com. The plan is to offer video advertising in later versions, and in theory, in the future the app could be used to target ads at specific audiences at specific times.

Web site: www.ft.com .