Newspaper

In 2015, Vocento increased its leadership of the general information press, in terms of both circulation and readership. Vocento also deepened its commitment to new technologies and is in a leadership position, both for developing new businesses and for optimising its positioning in the press sector.

Given the increased consumption of news on mobile devices, Vocento is working on various strategies to accelerate its digital growth. These include user understanding and behaviour, developing digital platforms and vehicles, especially in the mobile space, creating products and services adapted for the new reality, and finally research and development, supported by the Vocento Media Lab, into innovative and critical trends for the press sector.

In 2015, ABC continued to be committed to digital journalism, redesigning its desktop and mobile website.

The focus is on content which is attractive to social networks, narrative, opinion and analysis, in-depth features as well as news for mobile consumption, audiovisual content and thematic channels. All while maintaining the quality and accuracy expected from readers.

In 2015, abc.es increased its readership, especially thanks to the power of mobile. According to comScore data for December 2015, it now has 12 million unique monthly users, of which seven million (58%) use only mobile devices, reflecting the high value of the ABC reader.

The new mobile version of ABC.es, launched in November 2015, is focused on interactivity, user participation, integration with social networks and a new look for high quality contemporary journalism. The new site won global recognition at the Global Mobile Awards 2016 (GLOMO), the Oscars of the mobile industry. ABC was the only media site to be nominated in the best app for movies, film, video and media. Just in the media sector, ABC was the only Spanish finalist in the European Digital Media Awards, in the category of Best News Mobile Service.

In 2015, ABC became the first Spanish national newspaper to join Facebook Instant Articles. This is an important development in ABC’s effort to improve the user experience on all devices, as it enables the almost immediate download of ABC articles in the Facebook news feed. Followers of ABC on Facebook can now enjoy a more agile and rapid experience, with interactive charts and galleries and autoplay videos.

The move shows how ABC continues to adapt to new habits in news consumption and new user requirements. On Twitter, ABC now has more than one million followers, reflecting its central place in social networks in providing news and analysis.

In 2015, ABC strengthened its position as the second most sold print daily in the Madrid region, reflecting its influence in the liberal/conservative sector of the capital.

The growth of the newspaper in Madrid has been continuous compared to its nearest rival. In December, ABC had more than 4,000 sales more than the number three newspaper, the biggest gap between the two positions of recent years, according to OJD 2015. In terms of readership, the newspaper reached 497,000 people (Source: EGM 3rd survey). These figures indicate that ABC has increased its share of the general press market in Madrid from 22% in 2011 to 26% in 2015.

In the rest of Spain, in 2015 ABC also overtook its nearest competitor in the Comunidad Valenciana, Murcia, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and Andalusia. In Andalusia ABC continued to be the absolute leader of the sector.

In 2015, ABC also continued to grow on digital platform Kiosko y Más. ABC is the only national daily to be audited by OJD on the platform, and ended 2015 with 6,550 individual subscriptions, up 20% from the end of 2014.

The continuous development of ABC on the platform forms part of the strategy of improving our understanding of the reader, which will help in the digital transformation of the business. Kiosko y Más is an online kiosk where readers can choose the format for ABC, from tablet to desktop, laptop or smartphone, in a digital display similar to the print version of the newspaper. With an ABC subscription on the platform, readers can access the print version from 23:30 on the previous day, as well as all the supplements and magazines of ABC (XL Semanal, Mujer Hoy, Corazón CzN TVE, ABC Salud, ABC Cultural, ABC Empresas, ABC Natural, ABC Motor). Kiosko y Más makes available the full range of ABC in any place, any time, and any device.

For another year, Vocento has consolidated its undisputed leadership of the regional press market in Spain. Its eleven newspapers, El Correo, El Diario Vasco, El Diario Montañés, El Norte de Castilla, La Verdad, Ideal, Las Provincias, Sur, El Comercio, Hoy and La Rioja remained in first position for circulation, with share of 24.7%, ahead of the next group on 15.3%.

In terms of readership, the regional newspapers were leaders in print, with over 2 million readers or 0.7 million more than the number two group (source: EGM 3rd survey of 2015) and also online with a readership of more than 18 million unique monthly users according to comScore MMX Multiplataforma in December 2015. All of the portals are also leaders in their regions, except for El Comercio.

The newspapers have strong roots to their regions. As an indication of their prestige and influence, almost all of them have over 60% of circulation in their markets and were leaders in terms of sales. El Correo sold on average 65,257 copies in the provinces of Álava and Vizcaya, market share of 72.2%. In Guipúzcoa, El Diario Vasco sold 49,479 copies on average per day for share of 83.7%. In Cantabria, El Diario Montañés has sales of 27,738 daily copies, or share of 72.1%, while La Rioja sells 9,374 copies per day for share of 68.5% (source: OJD, July-December data not certified).

In southern Spain, Vocento’s regional newspapers are also leaders. In Granada, Ideal had average sales of 14,836 per day, for market share of 68.6%m while in Malaga the daily circulation of 16,580 of Hoy is equivalent to market share of 45.7% (source: OJD, July-December data not certified).

These roots to the community are also reflected in the various events the newspapers organise. In 2015, highlights included the 150th anniversary of Las Provincias. King Felipe VI inaugurated the main event, an exhibition celebrating the anniversary. Another stand-out was the award ceremony for diariovasco.com, on the 20th anniversary of the website.

Fun & Serious Game Festival, supported by El Correo was the largest gaming festival in Europe in 2015. In Cantabria, El Diario Montañés organised the Santander Social Weekend, a leading event for social networking and the Internet industry in northern Spain and a major digital event for all of the country.

Other highlights included the largest Twitter event in the world, Ideal’s event Talking About Twitter (#TATGranada), with more than 315 million impacts and 7,500 social media followers. The Feria Gastronómika, supported by the El Diario Vasco, beat all records in its seventeenth year with more than 1,500 exhibitors and almost 13,000 visitors. Furthermore, the Iberian Pork Parade, organised by Hoy, gathered companies, artists and public institutions from Extremadura, while the traditional London dinner of Sur attracted many leading tourism figures.

El Norte de Castilla held the awards ceremony for the E-volución Awards, recognising the best projects on the Internet. Several of the newspapers, including La Verdad, el Comercio and La Rioja, participated in the Premios Webs, the most important newspaper awards in the digital space. The newspapers recognised the best online platforms in each province in the categories of best corporate website, e-commerce, mobile app, associations, personal websites, etc.

In short, Vocento is focused on maintaining the leadership of its newspapers, independent of the device used to access them, while protecting their profitability. In 2016, the aim is to strengthen the digital strategy and to work to increase profitability, increasing some cover prices and continuing to improve processes and resources while continuing to invest in the quality of each product.