May 2004
ireland.com sees 50 per cent jump in Irish audience

The Irish Times' website, ireland.com, has seen its Irish readership jump by almost 50 per cent in the last year, according to new audience research figures.

The latest Joint National Internet Research (JNIR) report on the Irish Internet audience shows that ireland.com remains the most popular media site, with 170,000 readers accessing the site on a regular basis.

Now in its second year, the JNIR survey does not take into account ireland.com's substantial international readership, but it measures the total Irish Internet audience and the reach of 16 other leading Irish websites.

The JNIR results show over two-thirds of ireland.com readers are in the ABC1 category, while over half are aged between 25 and 44 years.

The survey also indicates Internet usage in Ireland has grown by five per cent in the past 12 months, with 38 per cent of Irish adults now using the Internet regularly.

The editor of ireland.com, Ms Deirdre Veldon described the results as "very positive" and said she was "delighted" to see the website's Irish readership growing so fast

"The JNIR figures prove that the online market in Ireland is maturing rapidly and, as more and more people turn to the Web for news and information, it is extremely encouraging to see the majority of Irish people rely on ireland.com."

Ms Una O'Hare, General Manger of ireland.com said: "It's an impressive rate of growth in the Irish market and means we are choosing the right strategies and giving both readers and advertisers what they want. This increase confirms trends we have see in the growth of subscriptions in particular and affirms an increasing acceptance among our audience to pay for content."

The research was conducted by Monitrack Internet Research and Behaviour and Attitudes marketing research and is supported by the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI) and the Association of Advertisers in Ireland (AAI). Back to Press release index