El País strengthens its position among pay press and online

Latest EGM audit bureau figures from the second quarter of 2008 highlight once again the absolute lead of El País, both in print and online.

ElPais.com has confirmed its lead among online general news portals, with 1.91 million readers a month, 2% up on the same period last year, much more than its nearest rivals.

El Pais'sprint edition is read by 2,274,00 readers, a 4.2% increase on last year, according to EGM figures.

Over the past 12 months, El País has widened its lead over other newspapers, gaining 920,00 readers more than its nearest rival. 47% of the paper's readers, 1,077,00 people, read no other newspaper.

Broken down by region, Andalucía stands out - with 267,000 readers. In this region, El País remains the top-ranking paper, well ahead of its nearest national rival and other local papers.

El País also maintains its leadership in Madrid, with 747,000 readers, Valencia (240,000), and Galicia (113,000). In the Basque Country, readership figures are up 5% over last year.

These figures confirm the upward trend for El País which noted in earlier distribution figures, which showed the paper ranked first. Between January and May, 2008, the paper's average daily circulation was 461,445 copies daily, 5% up on the year before, according to audited data pending certification and published by the audit bureau OJD (Oficina de Justificación de la Difusión).

The latest figures certified to be by the OJD date from 2007 and put El País in the lead with 435,083 readers.