ThinkNewsBrands’s Emma metric is to be retired following a decision to have Roy Morgan oversee readership measurement.

Effective July 1, the move brings an end to the eight-year life of the measurement study, launched by publisher-owned The Readership Works in August 2013.

Its successor, the Premium Content Alliance said ThinkNewsBrands will continue to release quarterly readership data, now termed ‘Total News’ in conjunction with Roy Morgan, with the first data release scheduled for August. Current users of Emma will retain access to historical data to conduct comparative analysis where required. 

“We have listened to the industry and acknowledge the need to implement a single unified readership metric for total news, produced by one entity rather than with multiple data sources,” said head of communications Brooke Hemphill.

“The move to a Total News metric brings clarity to the industry as all advertisers, agencies and publishers will now rely on one measurement, approved and used by all parties, enabling better campaign investment decisions through simplified media planning tools.”

She said the partnership followed work between ThinkNewsBrands and Roy Morgan to further refine Roy Morgan’s “well-established” readership methodology across news in both print and digital formats.   When the partnership begins in July, updates will be made within the Roy Morgan database such as the inclusion of additional publications and an upgrade of categories to more clearly represent the news platform as a whole.