FT: Digital subs exceed daily print circulation

Digital subscriptions for FT.com overtook average daily print circulation in the first half of 2012 for the first time, according to results published by owners Pearson today.

The latest results report that FT.com subscriptions were up 31 per cent year-on-year to 301,471, with a 29 per cent rise in registered users to 4.8 million.

This compared to an average daily print circulation of 297,227 for the same period of 2 April to 1 July 2012, based on Audit Bureau of Circulation reports.

In its end-of-year results for 2011 FT.com reported 267,000 digital subscribers.

The latest figures show a total global paid-for circulation of 598,698, with an average daily global audience of "close to 2.1 million".

"The FT’s successful financial performance underlines our ability to adapt to a rapidly changing environment, as well as our investment in new products and services for an increasingly multi-channel audience," FT CEO John Ridding said in a release.

"Our growth in this tough climate reflects the measures we took early on, especially to build our content revenues and to drive digital and mobile delivery."

Earlier this year Rob Grimshaw, managing director of FT.com, said he expects within the next three years for access via mobile devices to grow from a quarter to 50 per cent of the total digital audience.

At the time around 30 per cent of FT.com subscribers were said to be accessing content from mobile devices, including phones and tablets.

In today's release the publisher reported that mobile is currently responsible for 25 per cent of traffic to FT.com and 15 per cent of new subscriptions.

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