Digital versus Traditional Newspapers: Influences on Perceived Substitutability

Abstract

In the newspaper industry there is a growing interest in the analysis of the duality of channels that distribute the latest news. In this study we identify the main motivations that lead readers to read the press. We also analyse the influence of motivations on the degree of perceived substitutability between digital and traditional newspapers. First, a qualitative study was carried out in order to learn about this particular context of analysis in greater detail. Specifically, we held a focus group and a series of in-depth interviews. These analyses allowed us to identify the four main motivations to read the press: (1) to search for specific information, (2) to get updated news, (3) for leisure reasons, and (4) as a habit. Subsequently, a survey was applied to a representative sample of users and several hypotheses were tested with a binary logistic regression analysis. The results confirm that the motivation to search for updated news influences negatively the perceived degree of substitutability between channels (readers prefer the digital channel when searching for updated news). We also found that reading as entertainment or as habit led readers to consider both channels more ‘substitutable’. These findings suggest that both channels can survive alongside one another, avoiding cannibalistic effects, and that the newspaper industry should recognise the difference of the digital channel by paying more attention to its peculiarities.