Analysis of the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) Internet Monitor survey reveals that the audience for online newspapers is more likely to be male, younger and more upmarket than the internet audience as a whole. These aren't necessarily words you tend to associate with printed newspaper audiences.

Online newspaper readers have a higher average annual household income (£38,000) than the average internet user (£35,000). The internet also appears to be an integral part of their lives. Three-quarters (73%) of online newspaper readers use the internet every day, compared with an average of 59% among all online users, and 78% often refer to the internet before buying something, against 69% of all web users.

A significant minority (29%) of newspaper site users aren't regular readers of the printed paper. Furthermore, they don't only visit the same style of newspaper they read offline. For example, half the Mirror.co.uk audience who read a printed paper read a quality or mid-market title rather than a tabloid one. Similarly, a quarter of the online audience for The Sun are people in social grade AB compared with 11% of the printed title.

Of course, it isn't only newspapers that have the opportunity to build additional audiences through other platforms. Broadcasters and magazines are also eager to quantify their total audience figures and establish understanding of their overall audience profiles. For example, 32% of Channel 4's TV audience is aged 15-34 and 27% is AB. These figures rise to 44% and 33% respectively for Channel4.com.

As the digital revolution continues apace, these figures highlight the importance of encompassing the online audience as an integral part of a media owner's overall audience offer. Media owners need a deeper understanding of their online audience to leverage their total audiences.

Trevor Vagg, director, BMRB Media