Download - Fundamentals
FundamentalsJoint industry report on the readership of Newsbrands in Australia
Updated August 2021
News
Key facts about newsin Australia
Total newsThe measure of 'total news' refers to all printed and digital news including Australia’s leading news publishers. For example:
National and metro newspapers (print)
National and metro newspapers (digital)
National news sites (digital)
afr.com
theaustralian.com.au
thewest.com.au
theage.com.au
Note: The above is an example only and does not represent the full list of news entities within Australia.
News is a fundamental part of the day for Australians
Source : Roy Morgan January 2021 to June 2021. “Total news” is Australians aged 14+ reading news (print) and/or news (digital) in the
last 7 days averaged over the last 6 months
Every week 19 million Australians read news across papers or online. That’s 9 out of 10 Australians aged 14+.
54%
Breakfast & Mid-morning
Afternoon Evening
Time of day news readers prefer to read news
Average Monday to Sunday
News is a morning ritual. It's consumed by the time you’ve had your coffee
Source : Roy Morgan July 2020 to June 2021.
Which media do you prefer to use at breakfast/mid-morning, lunchtime/afternoon and dinner time/after dinner. Eg Newspapers – print or
online. Unique audience aggregated to Breakfast & Mid-morning/afternoon/evening.
Readership is high across all age groups, including the hard to reach 14-34'sReadership and reach: Total news
Reach % to popn 14+: 97%
Totals: 20.4m
Male: 10m | Female: 10.4m
14-34: 6.7m | 35-54: 6.5m | 55+: 7.2m
Source : Roy Morgan July 2020 to June 2021. “Total news” is Australians aged 14+ reading news (print) and/or news (digital) in the last 4 weeks averaged over the previous 12 months – whether ad supported or not. Digital news
therefore includes Australian publishers’ news websites/apps, Apple news and non-Australian owned news websites eg Buzzfeed, The Guardian, BBC, Daily Mail. It also includes ABC news and Google news.
All the facts on who is reading the newsCross platform readership by demographic, platform and over time
Readership by news type
Total news
20.4m
Source : Roy Morgan July 2020 to June 2021. “Total news” is Australians aged 14+ reading news (print) and/or news (digital) in the last 4 weeks averaged over the previous 12 months – whether ad supported or not. Digital news
therefore includes Australian publishers’ news websites/apps, Apple news and non-Australian owned news websites eg Buzzfeed, The Guardian, BBC, Daily Mail. It also includes ABC news and Google news.
News(print)
14.1m
News(digital)
19.1m
Print only
1.3m
Digital only
6.3m
Both
12.8m
Newspaper inserted
magazines
4.6m
Especially choose to read News sections
7.1m
Readership is strong all year round
20.2
20.4
20.220.4
20.220.4
20.520.3
20.520.4
20.6
20.5
17.0
17.3
17.6
17.9
18.2
18.5
18.8
19.1
19.4
19.7
20.0
20.3
20.6
20.9
Jul 20 Aug 20 Sep 20 Oct 20 Nov 20 Dec 20 Jan 21 Feb 21 Mar 21 Apr 21 May 21 Jun 21
Source : Roy Morgan July 2020 to June 2021. “Total news” is Australians aged 14+ reading news (print) and/or news (digital) whether ad supported or not. Digital news therefore includes
Australian publishers’ news websites/apps, Apple news and non-Australian owned news websites eg Buzzfeed, The Guardian, BBC, Daily Mail. It also includes ABC news and Google news.
The above graph plots “Read news in the last 4 weeks (print or digital)“ by the month they were interviewed. Each month, sample size average is n=5500 with the lowest at n=4500
Readership news type growth/decline
20.3 20.419.1 19.1
13.414.1
3.9 4.6
Jun-20 Jun-21
Total news
News (digital)
News (print)
NIMs
Source: Roy Morgan July 2019 to June 2021. “Total news” is Australians aged 14+ reading news (print) and/or news (digital) in the last 4 weeks averaged over the previous 12 months – whether ad supported or not.
Digital news therefore includes Australian publishers’ news websites/apps, Apple news and non-Australian owned news websites e.g. Buzzfeed, The Guardian, BBC, Daily Mail. It also includes ABC news and Google
news.
Readership news type by age/region
Reach to age 14+ 97% 97% 97% 93% 98% 98% 97% 96%
Population 14+ 100% 21.1m 10.4m 10.7m 7.2m 6.6m 7.3m 15.0m 6.1m
Total news 97% 20.4m 10.0m 10.4m 6.7m 6.5m 7.2m 14.5m 5.9m
News (digital) 90% 19.1m 9.4m 9.7m 6.3m 6.3m 6.5m 13.7m 5.4m
News (print) 67% 14.1m 7.1m 7.0m 3.9m 4.2m 6.0m 9.9m 4.2m
Newspaper inserted magazines (NIMs)
22% 4.6m 2.2m 2.3m 1.1m 1.2m 2.3m 3.5m 1.1m
Source : Roy Morgan July 2020 to June 2021. “Total news” is Australians aged 14+ reading news (print) and/or news (digital) in the last 4 weeks averaged over the previous 12 months – whether ad supported or not. Digital news
therefore includes Australian publishers’ news websites/apps, Apple news and non-Australian owned news websites eg Buzzfeed, The Guardian, BBC, Daily Mail. It also includes ABC news and Google news.
How do Australians read news?Readership and engagement by location and demographic
59%
25%15%
Breakfast & mid-morning Afternoon Evening
When, how frequent and how long?
55%
29%17%
44%
29%
27%
1 to 2 a week 3 to 6 a week 7 or more a week
60%
23%
17%
Less than 30 minutes a day 30 to 59 minutes a day
60 or more minutes a day
When How longHow frequent27% of newspaper readers
typically read 7 or more issues a weekMondays to Fridays, newspapers are the most engaging media before lunch
Over half of newspaper readers prefer to be reading papers before lunchtime40% of newspaper readers readthem for more than 30 minutes
Monday to Friday
Saturday to Sunday
Source : Roy Morgan July 2020 to June 2021. News (print) readership is Australians aged 14+ having read news (print) in the last 4 weeks averaged over the previous 12 month
When : “Which media do you prefer to use at breakfast/mid-morning/lunchtime/afternoon/dinner time/after dinner?” Displayed In the legend as Breakfast & mid-morning, afternoon and evening respectively.
How frequent : “In the last 4 weeks which newspapers have you read…and which did you read in the last 7 days?” This metric counts the number of issues the respondent has read in the last 7 days.
How long : "How many hours or minutes in total do you spend doing each of the following activities at home or away from home, in the morning, during the day or in the evening? – Read a newspaper"
Regular readership by age/region
Source : Roy Morgan July 2020 to June 2021. News (print) readership is Australians aged 14+ having read news (print) in the last 4 weeks averaged over the previous 12 month
Reading 30+ mins : "How many hours or minutes in total do you spend doing each of the following activities at home or away from home, in the morning, during the day or in the evening? – Read a newspaper“
Reading 7+ issues ‘last week’ : “In the last 4 weeks which newspapers have you read…and which did you read in the last 7 days?” This metric counts the number of issues the respondent has read in the last 7 days.
Metro market as per OzTam definition. Regional markets are all markets outside of the defined OzTAM metro areas.
35%
38%
31%29%
31%
41%
36%
31%
27%
29%
24%
23%
24%
31%29%
22%
Totals Male Female 14 to 34 35 to 54 55+ Metro markets Regional markets
Readership 000's (L4W)
% 30+ minutes
% 7+ issues "last week"
11,802,557 6,098,326 5,704,231 3,251,296 3,379,302 5,171,959 8,856,802 2,945,755
37%
40%
33%32% 32%
42%
38%
34%
29%
31%
26%24%
26%
32%
30%
25%
Totals Male Female 14 to 34 35 to 54 55+ Metro markets Regional markets
Nat/Metro title readership 000s (L4W)
% 30+ minutes
% 7+ issues 'last week'
Regular readership: national/metro titles by age/region
Source : Roy Morgan July 2020 to June 2021. News (print) readership is Australians aged 14+ having read news (print) in the last 4 weeks averaged over the previous 12 month
Reading 30+ mins : "How many hours or minutes in total do you spend doing each of the following activities at home or away from home, in the morning, during the day or in the evening? – Read a newspaper“
Reading 7+ issues ‘last week’ : “In the last 4 weeks which newspapers have you read…and which did you read in the last 7 days?” This metric counts the number of issues the respondent has read in the last 7 days.
Metro market as per OzTam definition. Regional markets are all markets outside of the defined OzTAM metro areas.
6,846,249 3,331,744 3,514,505 1,768,927 2,015,888 3,061,433 3,904,929 2,941,320
35%
39%
32%
31%
32%
39%
37%
33%
29%
32%
26%
28%28%
30%
34%
23%
Totals Male Female 14 to 34 35 to 54 55+ Metro markets Regional markets
Regional title readership 000s (L4W)
% 30+ minutes
% 7+ issues 'last week'
Regular readership: regional titles by age/region
Source : Roy Morgan July 2020 to June 2021. News (print) readership is Australians aged 14+ having read news (print) in the last 4 weeks averaged over the previous 12 month
Reading 30+ mins : "How many hours or minutes in total do you spend doing each of the following activities at home or away from home, in the morning, during the day or in the evening? – Read a newspaper“
Reading 7+ issues ‘last week’ : “In the last 4 weeks which newspapers have you read…and which did you read in the last 7 days?” This metric counts the number of issues the respondent has read in the last 7 days.
Metro market as per OzTam definition. Regional markets are all markets outside of the defined OzTAM metro areas.
12,634,792 6,438,364 6,196,428 3,477,331 3,690,602 5,466,859 8,801,220 3,833,572
36%
39%
33%31% 32%
41%
38%
33%
29%
32%
26%
25%
27%
32% 32%
23%
Totals Male Female 14 to 34 35 to 54 55+ Metro markets Regional markets
Mon-Fri title readership 000s (L4W)
% 30+ minutes
% 7+ issues 'last week'
Regular readership: Mon-Fri titles by age/region
Source : Roy Morgan July 2020 to June 2021. News (print) readership is Australians aged 14+ having read news (print) in the last 4 weeks averaged over the previous 12 month
Reading 30+ mins : "How many hours or minutes in total do you spend doing each of the following activities at home or away from home, in the morning, during the day or in the evening? – Read a newspaper“
Reading 7+ issues ‘last week’ : “In the last 4 weeks which newspapers have you read…and which did you read in the last 7 days?” This metric counts the number of issues the respondent has read in the last 7 days.
Metro market as per OzTam definition. Regional markets are all markets outside of the defined OzTAM metro areas.
6,310,227 3,224,800 3,085,427 1,493,826 1,620,693 3,195,707 4,493,646 1,816,581
39%
42%
35%
32%
34%
44%
40%
36%
37%39%
34%
33%
34% 39% 39%
31%
Totals Male Female 14 to 34 35 to 54 55+ Metro markets Regional markets
Saturday title readership 000s (L4W)
% 30+ minutes
% 7+ issues 'last week'
Regular readership: Saturday titles by age/region
Source : Roy Morgan July 2020 to June 2021. News (print) readership is Australians aged 14+ having read news (print) in the last 4 weeks averaged over the previous 12 month
Reading 30+ mins : "How many hours or minutes in total do you spend doing each of the following activities at home or away from home, in the morning, during the day or in the evening? – Read a newspaper“
Reading 7+ issues ‘last week’ : “In the last 4 weeks which newspapers have you read…and which did you read in the last 7 days?” This metric counts the number of issues the respondent has read in the last 7 days.
Metro market as per OzTam definition. Regional markets are all markets outside of the defined OzTAM metro areas.
39%
42%
35%33% 33%
43%
40%
35%
39%
43%
35% 35% 37%
42%40%
36%
Totals Male Female 14 to 34 35 to 54 55+ Metro markets Regional markets
Sunday title readership 000s (L4W)
% 30+ minutes
% 7+ issues 'last week'
Regular readership: Sunday titles by age/region
Source : Roy Morgan July 2020 to June 2021. News (print) readership is Australians aged 14+ having read news (print) in the last 4 weeks averaged over the previous 12 month
Reading 30+ mins : "How many hours or minutes in total do you spend doing each of the following activities at home or away from home, in the morning, during the day or in the evening? – Read a newspaper“
Reading 7+ issues ‘last week’ : “In the last 4 weeks which newspapers have you read…and which did you read in the last 7 days?” This metric counts the number of issues the respondent has read in the last 7 days.
Metro market as per OzTam definition. Regional markets are all markets outside of the defined OzTAM metro areas.
News (digital)News readership and engagement by demographic
Source : Roy Morgan 12 months July 2020 - June 2021.
News (digital): devices used
16.5 16.515.4
6.7
Computer Mobile Phone or Tablet Mobile Phone Tablet
86% 86%81%
35%
Computer Mobile Phone or Tablet Mobile Phone Tablet
News (digital): readership,page views and time spent
18.9 18.9 18.9 19.0 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1
48.0 47.3 47.2
44.3
41.339.6 38.7
37.838.7
39.4 38.737.2 36.5
35.935.0 34.5 34.2 33.5 32.9
31.929.7
27.626.6 26.61138 1141 1166 1187 1219 1248
12931334
1430
1498 1528
15461594 1624 1640 1668 1685 1695 1711 1714 1690 1675 1706 1737
0
325
650
975
1300
1625
1950
0
3
6
8
11
14
17
19
22
25
28
30
33
36
39
41
44
47
50
52
Jul-
19
Au
g-1
9
Sep
t-1
9
Oct
-19
No
v-1
9
De
c-1
9
Jan
-20
Feb
-20
Mar
-20
Ap
r-2
0
May
-20
Jun
-20
Jul-
20
Au
g-2
0
Sep
-20
Oct
-20
No
v-2
0
De
c-2
0
Jan
-21
Feb
-21
Mar
-21
Ap
r-2
1
May
-21
Jun
-21
Pag
e v
iew
s (m
)
Re
ade
rsh
ip (
m)
& t
ime
sp
en
t (m
hrs
)
News (digital) - Readership, page views and time spent
Readership (millions)
Total time spent (million hours)
Page views (millions)
Source : Roy Morgan July 2020 to June 2021. “Total news” is Australians aged 14+ reading news (print) and/or news (digital) whether ad supported or not. Digital news therefore includes Australian publishers’ news websites/apps, Apple news
and non-Australian owned news websites eg Buzzfeed, The Guardian, BBC, Daily Mail. It also includes ABC news and Google news.
Total time spent and page views are average 4 weeks over the last 12 months.
*For readership on this chart *Digital readership L4W commenced collection November 2019. Readership trend therefore uses the month interviewed.The average sample size each month is n=5000 while minimum is n=3000.
*
News (digital): readership, page views and time spent by demographic
97% 97% 97% 93% 98% 98%
21.1m 10.4m 10.7m 7.2m 6.6m 7.3m
19.1m 9.4m 9.7m 6.3m 6.3m 6.5m
1737m 883m 855m 345m 659m 734m
26.6m 14.2m 12.4m 5.5m 9.5m 11.6m
Source : Roy Morgan July 2020 to June 2021. “Total news” is Australians aged 14+ reading news (print) and/or news (digital) in the last 4 weeks averaged over the previous 12 months – whether ad supported or not. Digital news
therefore includes Australian publishers’ news websites/apps, Apple news and non-Australian owned news websites eg Buzzfeed, The Guardian, BBC, Daily Mail. It also includes ABC news and Google news.
News (digital):page views by demographic
492 495 506 516540
567
595620
679722
744 752776
799 809 829 840 845 858 857 852 844 864 883
646 646 661 671 678 681 697 714751
776 784 794819 826 832 839 845 849 854 857 838 830 843 855
281 294 312 331 336 341 350 351 350 347 345 342 338 331 328 321 334 345
528 532
559 570 566 565 582 597 602 608 618 619 629 636 634 633 649 659
485508
560597
625 640663 676 688
713 723 733 744 747 728 721 723 734
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
Jul-19 Sept-19 Nov-19 Jan-20 Mar-20 May-20 Jul-20 Sep-20 Nov-20 Jan-21 Mar-21 May-21
Pag
e V
iew
s (
Mil
lio
ns)
Number of page views for digital news sites by month by demographic (millions)Male Female 14-34 35-54 55+
Source : Roy Morgan July 2020 to June 2021. “Total news” is Australians aged 14+ reading news (print) and/or news (digital) in the last 4 weeks averaged over the previous 12 months – whether ad supported or not. Digital news
therefore includes Australian publishers’ news websites/apps, Apple news and non-Australian owned news websites eg Buzzfeed, The Guardian, BBC, Daily Mail. It also includes ABC news and Google news.
* Age breaks are not available prior to January 2020.
News (digital):time spent by demographic
20.4 20.2 20.1 19.818.8 18.3 18.1 17.9
18.719.3 19.3
18.5 18.3 18.2 18.0 17.5 17.3 17.0 16.9 16.515.4
14.5 14.0 14.2
27.6 27.2 27.1
24.6
22.521.3
20.719.9 20.0 20.0 19.4
18.7 18.3 17.717.0 17.0 16.9 16.5 16.0 15.5
14.313.1 12.6 12.4
7.8 7.7 7.8 7.9 7.6 7.4 7.3 7.2 6.9 6.7 6.6 6.4 6.2 6.0 5.7 5.4 5.4 5.5
16.215.0 14.7 14.2
13.512.4 12.1 11.8 11.4 11.2 11.2 11.1 11.0 10.8
10.2 9.7 9.4 9.5
14.7
16.317.3 17.6 17.3 17.1 16.9 16.7 16.6 16.4 16.0 15.6 15.1
13.712.5
11.8 11.6
0.0
2.7
5.3
8.0
10.6
13.3
15.9
18.6
21.2
23.9
26.5
29.2
Jul-19 Sept-19 Nov-19 Jan-20 Mar-20 May-20 Jul-20 Sep-20 Nov-20 Jan-21 Mar-21 May-21
Tim
e S
pen
t (M
illio
n H
ou
rs)
Time spent reading digital news sites by month by demographic (million hours)Male Female 14-34 35-54 55+
Source : Roy Morgan July 2020 to June 2021. “Total news” is Australians aged 14+ reading news (print) and/or news (digital) in the last 4 weeks averaged over the previous 12 months – whether ad supported or not. Digital news
therefore includes Australian publishers’ news websites/apps, Apple news and non-Australian owned news websites eg Buzzfeed, The Guardian, BBC, Daily Mail. It also includes ABC news and Google news.
* Age breaks are not available prior to January 2020.
*