The Sun outshines the Mail in first NRS print and online report

The new data, called NRS PADD (Print and Digital Data) is being published today (12 September) for the first time, and offers media buyers, media owners and other interested parties a joint readership figures across print titles and their respective websites, for the first time.

The figures, however, do not include users who access national newspaper titles via Apple iPad and other tablets.

Disclosure of the data comes in the light of users' increased use of news websites at the expense of print news.

It will make welcome reading for Rupert Murdoch, the boss of The Sun, along with Paul Dacre, editor-in-chief of the Daily Mail, as the two titles are dominating the opposition.

The data comprises average monthly data taken over a yearly period between April 2011 and March 2012.

The figures show that The Sun has an overall average readership figure of 17.8 million over the month, split between 16.1 million readers of the paper and 3.3 million online consumers, minus duplication between the two.

The Sun, according to the NRS, is just ahead of the Daily Mail's printed publication and website.

The Daily Mail registered an overall average readership figure of 16.43 million over the month, split between 11.7 million print readers and 6.8 million readers of Mail Online, minus duplication.

The Daily Mail and The Sun are far ahead of the rest of the pack and the data is broadly in line with Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) data for online and print.

ABC measures circulation and browser numbers, unlike the NRS, which measures readers,  Both sets of data are used by media buyers when planning and buying campaigns.

Third-placed overall, according to the NRS, was the Daily Mirror with an overall readership of 10.6 million readers, split between 9.1 million print readers and 1.9 million online readers, minus duplication.

The Guardian was next with an overall readership figure of 8.95 million, split between 6.4 million online readers and 4.8 million print readers, minus duplication.

The Guardian just pipped the Telegraph, which had an overall readership figure of 8.8 million, split between 5.3 million online readers and 5.2 million print readers.

The Times, meanwhile, whose website is behind a paywall, reported a website readership figure of 295,000, which was dwarfed by rival quality newspaper websites.

Overall, The Times brand reported a figure of 5.74 million, made up of 295,000 website readers and 5.52 million newspaper readers.

Follow @johnreynolds10

This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk