AUCKLAND, Today: Herald NOW has made a huge impact since launch, hitting 2.4 million views in July and 15.7 million across TikTok, Instagram and Facebook in just its first two months.
The two-hour weekday live digital show, fronted by Ryan Bridge, has tackled the country’s biggest stories and welcomed politicians, sporting heroes, entertainers, business leaders and celebrities to its studio.
With 1 million weekly viewers on the NZ Herald app, website and YouTube, Herald NOW grew its unique audience by 41 percent from June to July—clear proof of its fast-growing popularity.
Streaming live from NZME’s central Auckland studios, Herald NOW features NZ Herald, BusinessDesk and Newstalk ZB reporters, showcasing real-time updates and newsroom expertise from across the country.
Murray Kirkness, NZ Herald editor-in-chief says, “In its first two months Herald NOW has transformed how Kiwis engage with news content, extending the Herald’s premium news brand and journalism into different territories.
“I’m so proud of our Herald NOW team for consistently delivering a premium product that not only our audiences love, but advertisers too.” – Sarah Bristow
“Whether viewers are engaging on small screen via our Herald website, app and social media, or big screen via YouTube on connected TVs at home, Herald NOW represents the strength of NZME’s digital capabilities, while complementing our exceptional audio and print offerings nationwide.”
Sarah Bristow, NZME Managing Editor, Multimedia Content says, “I’m so proud of our Herald NOW team for consistently delivering a premium product that not only our audiences love, but advertisers too.
“Like us, our foundational advertising partners saw the gap in the market for a live digital news product and we’re pleased to have been able to showcase their brands to such a large, engaged audience.
“We continue to look at ways we can expand on our digital offering, having also recently added a video element to several NZ Herald podcasts including The Front Page, Media Insider, Money Talks, The Prosperity Project and Ask Me Anything.
“We see real value in providing a multimedia experience and the feedback from our audiences and advertisers has been fantastic,” says Bristow.
“The engagement we’ve seen with Herald NOW since launch and the latest Nielsen results demonstrate our multi-platform approach is working.” – Murray Kirkness
The Nielsen Readership Survey also confirms the NZ Herald app remains the country’s number one news app for the 18th month straight. NZME’s publishing brands now reach 2.5 million Kiwis weekly.
The NZ Herald audience continues to rise, now at 2.39 million weekly readers—139,000 more than last year. Over weekends, NZME outperforms competitors, reaching 750,000 readers, 143,000 ahead of all daily newspaper rivals combined.
Kirkness says, “The engagement we’ve seen with Herald NOW since launch and the latest Nielsen results demonstrate our multi-platform approach is working – we’re keeping Kiwis in the know through our market-leading print publications, our number one news app, our award-winning website, our podcasts and our live digital news platform.
“Our strength lies in meeting New Zealanders wherever they consume news while delivering the quality, trusted journalism they expect.”
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