Investing in digital news

Ireland’s top news websites plan to spend more than €2 million developing their digital products this year.

The Association of Online Publishers (AOP) Ireland – which includes irishtimes.com, TV3.ie, Entertainment.ie, Independent.ie, RTE.ie and TheJournal.ie – said its members would cary on investing in their online offerings to ensure traffic continues to grow.

Already in 2013, irishtimes. com, Independent.ie and Entertainment.ie have launched new websites and all AOP members have upgraded to facilitate video and “ensure their premium quality content is accessible on the ever-widening variety of mobile platforms”, the industry body said.

Data compiled for the Joint National Readership Survey 2012 found 17 per cent of people in Ireland read newspaper content online at least monthly. More than 2.3 million people regularly use smartphones and tablets in Ireland, according to Comreg.

AOP chairman and managing director of Entertainment.ie Julian Douglas said 2013 was a "landmark year for the Irish premium quality digital publishing industry".

“Leading companies [are] investing significantly in their digital products and continuing to lead the way as the ‘go to’ sites that virtually all Irish internet users visit on a daily basis,” he said. “Change is constant and we must lead the way in providing our audience with the best user experience and our advertisers with the best possible commercial results.”