Global assurance provider BPA Worldwide today announced the concurrent release of audience metrics for 41 consumer and 6 newspapers brands in the Middle East for the six-month period ended December 31, 2015.
The top-line figures in the TRAC (Trend Report About Circulation) cover media with operations in four Middle East countries, including Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.
Included in the report are the headline average qualified circulations and other channels, including web traffic “average unique browser,” social media and apps downloads from the most recent December 2015-ending BPA Brand Reports.
“The concurrent release of audience data for consumer and newspapers based in the region helps level the playing field in the marketplace,” explained Rana Hariz, Director of BPA’s Middle East operation. “Media buyers and advertisers can turn to this single report and make an accurate evaluation of audience metrics between brands before they buy.”
Closer analysis of the TRAC data reveals a number of points that are reflective of the Middle East media marketplace:
• The count of audience channels being reported by media members in the region is now 130, a 49% increase from the December 2014 reporting period;
• Circulation in the Lifestyle/Tourism market category was down 6.2% year-on-year;
• Brands in the In-flight segment enjoyed a 5.7% overall increase in circulation compared to December 2014.
• 15 Middle East brands report web traffic on their December 2015 reports, up 36% from 2014;
• Arabian Business (English), with an average of 775,950 unique browsers, reported the highest web traffic of any of the audited consumer brands in the region; Time Out Dubai was next with 686,772 average unique;
• With 69,674 app downloads, Ahlan! English led the consumer segment, followed by Time Out Dubai with 47,967;
• Middle East brands are reporting a total 21 social media channels, up 50% from a year earlier;
• Of those brands reporting social media metrics, the majority tended to report both Twitter and Facebook analytics, instead of favoring one over the other;
• In the newspaper segment, only Gulf News reported audience metrics in addition to print, including average unique browsers, mobile average unique browsers and Facebook group “likes.”
The figures in the TRAC represent the figures for only those consumer magazines and newspapers that have opted to be BPA audited. Media owner members are required to declare their figures every six months and be audited by our media auditors annually. Visit BPA’s reports library to view individual Brand Reports.