The weekday edition of the daily newspaper Israel Hayom has increased its lead over chief competitor Yedioth Ahronoth to nearly 5%, and its weekend edition has now reached equal exposure to that of Yedioth's weekend edition, the latest comprehensive Israeli media analysis survey revealed Monday. The analysis, conducted by Target Group Index, surveyed media data for the first half of 2016 -- January to June. Israel Hayom's exposure rate on weekdays has gone up from 38.2% in the second half of 2015 (July-December) to 39.7% in the subsequent six months. Meanwhile, Yedioth Ahronoth saw a decline in weekday exposure from 35.3% in the second half of 2015 to 34.9% in the last six months. The widening gap between Israel Hayom's exposure to that of Yedioth Ahronoth is now statistically significant. While Israel Hayom trailed behind Yedioth Ahronoth's weekend edition exposure in recent years, this latest survey showed that the gap has now been all but eliminated, with both papers enjoying near equal weekend exposure of 37.6% and 37.7% respectively -- a tenth of a percent apart. In the analysis of the last 12 months, Israel Hayom also continued to display a strong lead over all other newspapers. Between July, 2015 and July 2016, Israel Hayom's exposure rate was 38.9%, while Yedioth Ahronoth's exposure rate in the corresponding time frame was a mere 35.1% -- a statistically significant different. And while Yedioth's annual weekend edition exposure dipped slightly over the last year from 38.8% to 38.7%, Israel Hayom marked a more significant increase in weekend exposure, going from 35.5% to 37.1%. Industry experts have commended Israel Hayom for these achievements, especially since Yedioth Ahronoth, eager to close the gap with Israel Hayom, has been investing enormous resources into distribution, including the handing out of hundreds of thousands of free copies on both weekdays and weekends, according to assessments. It is worth noting also that newspaper Maariv has launched a free daily edition, replacing the now-defunct Israel Post, gaining a 7.2% exposure rate over the last six months. Experts say that in years past, Yedioth and Maariv were perceived as having particular value over the free daily Israel Hayom, for being sold on a retail basis, but now that many copies are distributed without charge, readers choose Israel Hayom. Meanwhile, the survey revealed that the exposure rate of the daily Haaretz has plummeted by more than 30% to 3.9% on weekdays. Maariv, therefore has now moved into third place. Maariv has also surpassed Haaretz on weekends with an exposure rate of 5.5% (to Haaretz's 4.3%).
