Fairfax admits accidentally overstating its numbers on app usage
Fairfax Media has admitted it released inflated data for the number of pages being used on its smartphone apps when it launched its new Metro Media Audience Reports to the market three months ago.
The problem came to light after Mumbrella noticed what appeared to be a 50% drop in the number of pages viewed by people on the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s smartphone apps when new data was published on Friday.
The company had claimed that in the last quarter of 2011 it had delivered a monthly average of 3.3m page views to the SMH phone apps and 2.7m to The Age’s phone apps.
By contrast, the last quarter saw those numbers apparently fall to 1.7m and 1.5m, which would have been a drop of 48% and 44%.
Surely someone deserves an app-ology.
Now to investigate some of those autoplay inflated video usage numbers…
Fairfax’s constant spin and massaging of its ever declining circulation figures reminds me of that classic quote by Kerry Packer: “We’re being asked to eat a sh!t sandwich and pretend that it’s yummy”.
Hmmm. Given the enormous lengths Fairfax went to in mov ng the cheese to its Metro Audience Report one would expect that they might be careful with its integrity. But no. Perhaps the share price is an integrity indicator?