Chronicle gains in readership as other papers lose ground

According to the latest Zimbabwe All Media Products Survey for the third quarter of the year, Chronicle and the Daily News were the only newspapers to record increases in their readership.
Chronicle’s readership increased from 12 percent to 13 percent while the Daily News improved from 21 percent to 22 percent.

Chronicle is read by 13 percent (335 164) of the adult urbanites.
The survey revealed that the general daily newspaper readership declined from 64 percent recorded in the third quarter of 2011 to the current 59 percent.

The survey was carried out between July and September focusing on urban dwellers aged over 15.
Surveys for this year’s first and second quarters were, however, not held due to financial constraints.
Chronicle’s sister paper the Herald has maintained its position as Zimbabwe’s most widely read daily newspapers despite further decline in readership across all stables.
According to the survey, Herald maintained its pole position with a readership of 31 percent.
Herald’s competitors, the Daily News and NewsDay, were tied at 22 percent.

Newspaper readership, however, declined to 59 percent in the quarter under review.

The readership for Herald declined from 35 percent recorded in last year’s third quarter, and NewsDay readership dropped from 26 percent recorded during the same period to 22 percent.

Online readership of Herald increased from one percent to three percent.
Readership for H-Metro declined from 23 percent to 21 percent while that of B-Metro stayed at nine percent.

The recently launched Zimbabwe Newspapers Group (1980) Private Limited commercial radio station, Star FM, recorded phenomenal growth capturing 12 percent of listeners in its first four months of operation.

Star FM competitor ZBC’s Power FM declined from 36 percent to 33 percent with ZiFM, another new radio station, capturing three percent of the listenership.

The survey also revealed that Internet access had increased from 34 percent to 41 percent while cellphone density increased to 92 percent. Six percent of Internet users said they used it to access both local and foreign news.

Presenting the results Research International Bureau managing director Mr Ellington Kamba said the rise in Internet access could explain the drop in newspaper readership.

According to the survey, Herald’s readership stood at 799 950 while that of the Daily News and NewsDay stood at 571 581 and 558 678 respectively and that of H-Metro stood at 542 211, while that of B-Metro was 227 273.
A total of 301 392 people tune in to Star FM with Power FM still on top with 829 455 while ZiFM has 85 331 listeners.

At least 1 053 805 people now have access to Internet.

Research Bureau International carried out the survey on behalf of the Zimbabwe Advertising Research Foundation (ZARF).

ZARF whose board includes representatives of the media and advertising industries, is funded by a 1,5 percent surcharge on all advertising and is independent of control by any media house or agency.
The foundation then hires an independent market research company to do the actual survey.

Herald is read by 31 percent (799 950) of urban adults while in second place is the Daily News (571 581 — 22 percent) and then NewsDay (558 678 — 22 percent). H-Metro remained stable from the last results, attracting 21 percent of urban adults (542 211).

Sunday Mail still remains the most sought-after weekly paper. It attracts 658 166 urban adult readers. Sunday News is a distant second with 198 039 readers, followed by the Standard on 168 261. Kwayedza continues to do well. It is read by 99 607, better than the Financial Gazette (92 215) and Independent (72 833) and Manica Post (78 623).

In the radio category the newly established Star Fm started strongly. It is being listened to by 371 352 (12 percent) of urban people. ZiFM is on 3 percent (101 879). Power FM is on 33 percent (960 882), Radio Zimbabwe 22 percent (685 453), National FM on 6 percent (173 871) and SFM (171 984) on 6 percent.

ZTV2 showed the biggest growth from 8 percent to 18 percent, maybe due to the Bulawayo transmission. ZTV 1 lost ground from 51 percent to 43 percent while other satellite channels also lost viewership from 68 percent to 65 percent.

The 2012 Zimbabwe All Media Products and Services Survey (ZAMPS Q3 2012) is the 15th such study under the jurisdiction of the ZARF. It was conducted by Research Bureau International. This survey introduced the latest and more efficient smart phone android-based method of data collection.

Responsibility for the management of the ZARF’s affairs rests with the board of directors representing the members of the foundation. The board consists of Advertising Media Association, the Association of Zimbabwe Advertisers, the Zimbabwe Association of Accredited Practitioners in Advertising and the Communication Industry Association.