The emma (Enhanced Media Metrics Australia) data is back, and if the latest stats are anything to go by, news media was read by 16.7 million of the adult population in print and on digital devices in May, with newspaper readership remaining steady at 76 per cent of the population.
On digital devices (smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC), 13.1 million people are reading news media – equal to 72 per cent of consumers.
For the old-fashioned folk reading a classic metro newspaper in the last month, this figure sits at over 11.3 million people, or 63 per cent, of consumers aged 14 years and over.
The total audience for news media represents 92 per cent of Australians.
The latest data shows that newspapers continue to influence purchasing behaviour, with one in four consumers aged 14 years and over turning to newspapers to make holiday plans, while 23 per cent of the adult population seek out newspapers when they are buying a vehicle or real estate.
Additionally, 2.4 million consumers cite newspapers as the go-to media for financial services information.
NewsMediaWorks CEO Mark Hollands said news media continued to offer a high-reach and highly engaged channel for advertisers.
“The consistent readership figures show consumer loyalty for our news products across all platforms. Our journalism creates a level of engagement for advertisers that other channels cannot match.
“Readers are consistently earning above the average wage and are a compelling audience to reach.”
emma cross platform readership (000s, last four weeks) | May-16 | |
Sydney Morning Herald / smh.com.au | 6192 | |
Herald Sun / heraldsun.com.au | 4480 | |
Daily Telegraph / thetelegraph.com.au | 4425 | |
The Age / theage.com.au | 3606 | |
The Australian / theaustralian.com.au | 3435 | |
Courier-Mail / couriermail.com.au | 2979 | |
Financial Review / afr.com.au | 1782 | |
Adelaide Advertiser / AdelaideNow.com.au | 1694 | |
West Australian / thewest.com.au | 1633 | |
Sunday Times / perthnow.com.au | 1503 | |
Canberra Times / canberratimes.com.au | 910 | |
Gold Coast Bulletin / goldcoast.com.au | 564 | |
Sunshine Coast Daily / sunshinecoastdaily.com.au | 527 | |
Mercury (Tas) / themercury.com.au | 407 | |
Newcastle Herald / theherald.com.au | 325 |
According to the emma data for the 12 months to May 2016, The Sydney Morning Herald is Australia’s highest-reaching title across all platforms with 6.19 million readers. The Herald Sun followed on 4.48 million, then the The Daily Telegraph with 4.43 million readers.
Commenting on the results, Fairfax Media’s Australian publishing media managing director, Allen Williams, said, “The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian Financial Review and The Canberra Times all achieved their biggest cross-platform audiences for 2016.
“The cross-platform growth underlines the value and trust more than 13 million people place in Fairfax Media’s expansive platform of news, information and entertainment each month.
“The Sydney Morning Herald reinforced its position as Australia’s number one news destination, reaching 6.2 million people across print and digital platforms, 225,000 more people than April and 1.7 million more (+38%) than its nearest competitor.”