Taylor Swift, the Telstra outage, the Commonwealth Games and a growing appetite for electric vehicle information were among the stories and categories capturing Australians’ attention online in July.
The findings come as Ipsos announced a major change to its iris digital audience measurement this morning, with the July reporting period the first to measure Australians aged 18 and over only, meaning comparisons with previous 14+ data are no longer valid.
According to the latest Ipsos iris figures, 20.1 million Australians used a news website or app during July, representing 94.3 per cent of the online population aged 18+, with Australians spending an average of 3.25 hours consuming news online during the month.
The month’s biggest news interests spanned sport, celebrity, technology and everyday disruption.
The FIFA World Cup remained a major drawcard, with the final between Spain and Argentina attracting significant attention, while the Commonwealth Games kicking off in Glasgow on 23 July also drove audiences to news sites.
The nationwide Telstra outage was another major story, with Australians seeking updates on disrupted mobile, internet and communication services, while changes to road rules and enforcement penalties also prompted strong interest.
Internationally, US politics and live coverage of the Iran War continued to pull audiences in, alongside major global developments including NATO discussions.
Celebrity coverage also proved a powerful online draw, with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s reported wedding generating sustained interest, alongside stories about the British Royal Family and Prince Harry.
Elsewhere, Australians were keeping a close eye on consumer and business stories, including Betts’ widespread store closures, the recall of baby wipes from Target and a number of major international news stories.
Vrooooom, Aussies are car obsessed
Automotive content was another major online category in July, reaching 57.5 per cent of Australians aged 18 and over, or more than 12.2 million people.
The category attracted an average of almost 19 minutes of attention per person, with Australians increasingly turning to digital platforms to research car brands, deals and the rapidly changing EV market.
People aged 45 to 54 consumed the most automotive content, spending more than 23 minutes on average during the month.
Interestingly, men and women were almost evenly split within the category, with women accounting for 6.16 million of the audience and men 6.08 million. Men, however, spent longer consuming automotive content, averaging 22.5 minutes compared with 14.7 minutes for women.
Automotive search was the biggest time sink, with users spending an average of 20.8 minutes per person, while automotive brands attracted 10.6 minutes.
The data also points to a changing car-buying journey, with Australians increasingly researching electric and hybrid vehicles and showing growing interest in Chinese manufacturers entering the market.
AI is also starting to influence the research process, ranking among the top 10 influences on car research, according to Carsales’ Australia’s Car Buyer Report 2026.
So, what are Australians consuming online?
Across the broader digital landscape, 21.3 million Australians aged 18+ used the internet in July, spending an average of 5.15 hours online each day.
Online media was the most consumed category, reaching 21.09 million people, closely followed by social networking at 21.08 million and search engines at 21.07 million.
Technology reached 20.98 million Australians, while entertainment attracted 20.76 million.
For publishers, the sheer scale of the online audience is also reflected in News Corp Australia’s July results.
News Corp reached 16.679 million Australians, equivalent to 78.4 per cent of online Australians aged 18+, according to the July Ipsos iris rankings.
Its news category reached 13.10 million people, generating 514 million browser page views, while its sites recorded more than 79.9 million video views across the month.
News.com.au was among the biggest individual news brands, reaching 11.02 million Australians and recording 305 million browser page views.
News Corp Australia managing director and publisher, free news and lifestyle, Pippa Leary, said the new 18+ measurement base showed the publisher continued to reach close to 80 per cent of Australians each month.
“With our news brands leading the way, taste.com.au at the top of lifestyle, and strong video views across our sites, we continue to provide the reach and active engagement our clients expect,” she said.
Taste.com.au topped Ipsos iris’ Lifestyle category, reaching 3.95 million Australians and generating 52.3 million browser page views during July.
Ipsos iris’ July 2026 data represents a methodology break, with measurement moving from Australians aged 14+ to 18+. As a result, historical 14+ figures cannot be directly compared with the new 18+ figures.
