breaking news events, both locally and globally, captured the attention of Australians across news websites and apps, reinforcing that digital websites and apps are an essential go-to source for the stories that impact the lives of Australians. Sydney’s mastheads reported strong growth due to interest in two tragic stabbing events.
This marks a stark change from March when Ipsos iris data found that Australians prioritised entertainment and sports over serious news.
The series of breaking news stories surrounding the Westfield Bondi Junction and Western Sydney church stabbings saw audiences flock to news sources for “on-the-ground” reporting. These tragic events led to surges in traffic for Sydney-based news outlets The Sydney Morning Herald and The Daily Telegraph, which each recorded online audience increases of around 1 million – the highest ever audiences for these two news brands since Ipsos iris launched in 2023.
Other major news events, including the Bruce Lehrmann defamation verdict and Seven Network Sunrise reporter Nathan Templeton being found dead, also drove traffic, as well as global events such as the Iran drone attack on Israel, and King Charles’ and Kate Middleton’s cancer updates.
News Corp Australia’s News.com.au, whose audience shrunk 4.2 per cent, recorded the largest monthly audience of 12.4 million readers, closely followed by ABC News (12.3 million) and nine.com.au (10.7 million) – see full chart below.
More than 20.7 million people used a news website or app in April, reaching 96.6 per cent of online Australians aged 14+.
Ipsos iris, Australia’s digital audience measurement currency endorsed by IAB Australia, showed that overall, 21.5 million Australians aged 14+ used the internet in April and spent on average 4.5 hours per day, or almost 137 hours in the month, online.
The most consumed website and app categories in February were search engines (21.3 million), social networks (21.3 million), technology (21.3 million), retail and commerce (21 million), and entertainment (21 million) sites.
While most category audience numbers remained steady compared to March, the gaming category rose by 2.7 per cent and travel was up 2.5 per cent.
Lifestyle websites and apps also saw a significant increase in average time spent per person online for the month, up by 8.3 per cent, with Australians consuming 5.17 minutes more on average than the previous month.
Gaming on websites and apps was popular during April, with audiences rising by 2.7 per cent on the month prior, which equates to almost 16.6 million Australians aged 14+.
Men aged 14 to 24 are driving the increase in games app and website usage, up 10.2 per cent compared to March.
The other two groups with significant increases in games app and website usage in April were men aged 65+, rising by 9.1 per cent, and women aged 40-54, up 7.3 per cent.
