Globe circulation grows for the first time since 2004

By Chris Reidy

May 1, 2012

1 minute to read

The Boston Globe said Tuesday that its paid circulation has grown for the first time since September of 2004, based on numbers released by the an independent auditor of newspaper circulation.

Average Sunday circulation was 365,512 for the six month period that ended in March, up 2.5 percent for the same period a year ago, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations in Chicago. Average daily circulation rose 2.9 percent. The numbers reflect both print circulation and digital subscriptions to the company’s new website, BostonGlobe.com, which was launched in mid-October.

“This growth clearly reflects our readers’ dedication to our high-quality and award-winning journalism delivered both in print and across a variety of digital devices,’’ Boston Globe publisher Christopher Mayer said in a statement. “With the largest newsroom in New England, we’re providing the most reliable and in-depth coverage in the region.’’

The Globe’s online audience is also growing through its websites BostonGlobe.com and Boston.com, according to comScore, a firm that tracks Web traffic. In March, the two sites combined had more than 7 million unique monthly visitors.

As of March 18, paid digital subscribers to BostonGlobe.com and the Globe’s e-readers and replica editions totaled about 18,000, up about 13 percent since the end of fourth quarter 2011.

Nationally, average daily circulation rose by less than one percent, while Sunday circulation rose 5 percent.

Average daily circulation at the Boston Herald fell 12.3 percent to 108,548 in the six months ending March 25 compared to the same period a year ago, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The newspaper’s Sunday circulation fell 6.2 percent to 81,925. A spokesperson for the Herald could not be immediately reached.