Australia’s news media sector has reported $2.22 billion in advertising revenue for the 12 months to March, according to the latest News Media Index (NMI).

Digital news media revenue saw a 6.2 per cent rise during the March 2017 quarter, while print declined by 14.7 per cent, largely driven by the ongoing reduction in media agency bookings over the period.

Print revenue, however, continues to account for around 77 per cent of total ad revenue for the news media sector.

NEWS MEDIA INDEX BY MEDIA TYPE
	Q3, FY2016	Q3, FY2017	% change (YOY)
Total industry	$535m	$480m	-10.3%
Print	$413m	$352m	-14.7%
Digital	$105m	$112m	6.2%
NIMs	$16m	$15m	-6.2%

 

The latest data shows premium news media websites attracted less than 10 per cent of the total programmatic ad market’s revenue in the March quarter, despite reaching 70 per cent (13 million) of Australians aged 14 years and over each month.

NewsMediaWorks chairman Michael Miller said the NMI results supported advertisers’ growing concerns regarding programmatic placement of ads.

“With advertisers airing brand safety concerns relating to inappropriate ad placement via programmatic, it is worrying to learn that a vast majority of programmatic advertising is still being placed on unsafe ad networks and questionable long-tail sites, many with ineffective or non-existent editorial standards and environments,” he said.

“News media’s mass-reaching print and digital offering continues to give advertisers the confidence that their messages are being published in premium, brand-safe environments where consumers value and trust the content.

“We call upon advertisers to reconsider whether the short-term results delivered by low-quality digital environments are actually causing long-term harm to their brands.”