Israel Hayom was the most widely read newspaper in Israel in 2011, the latest survey conducted by an independent market research company indicated Sunday.
The survey, conducted by Target Group Index, examined the period between January and December 2011 and found that Israel Hayom was read by 38.1 percent of the public during the course of the year. Israel's second-largest newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, had a 35.8% market share during the same period.
These figures represent an increase in the readership of both papers since 2010, when Israel Hayom was read by 36.3% of the Israeli public.
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Israel Hayom, founded in 2007, first came in ahead of Yedioth Ahronoth in 2010, ending the latter’s years-long hegemony as the country's most popular newspaper. Yedioth Ahronoth's weekend edition is still more widely read than that of Israel Hayom, with a readership of 43.4% in comparison with Israel Hayom's 31.3%.
The third and fourth largest dailies in Israel, Maariv and Haaretz respectively, declined, with Maariv sinking to 11.5% (from13%) and Haaretz remaining steady at 6.6%.
The survey questioned more than 5,000 Jewish Israelis aged 18 and older, representing some 3.96 million people.
TGI has been conducting media consumption surveys since 1998, and releases its six-month results in July and its yearly results every January.
