Major news events and entertainment news continue to attract online audiences to news websites and apps, with King Charles and Queen Camilla’s Australian visit, the US election reaching its climax, and finales of reality TV shows fuelling that interest in October, according to the latest Ipsos iris data.
Local Queensland Election results, as well as global news events, including the US election and Hurricane Milton making landfall in Florida, garnered interest. Finales of TV shows The Block, MKR and The Voice Australia saw spikes in online news audiences, along with the tragic death of former One Direction star Liam Payne.
More than 20.6 million people used a news website or app in October, reaching 96.2 per cent of online Australians aged 14+.
The chart below shows the News brands’ ranking during October 2024 by online audience size.
Music festival and events season see Events and Attractions category rise
Leading into the warmer months and live music festival season, there has been a 2 per cent month-on-month increase in online audiences, or 292,000 Australians aged 14+, in the Events and Attractions category, to reach a 13.9 million-strong audience in total. This represents an 11 per cent year on year increase.
This increase was predominantly driven by the Music Events sub-category, which jumped by 30 per cent, or 650,000 more visitors month on month, as Oasis, Laneway and Knotfest tickets all went on sale.
The increases were driven by people aged 14 to 24, with a huge 97 per cent month on month, or 348,000, jump in online audiences. The 40 to 54 ‘Oasis generation’ swelled by 28 per cent, or an additional 162,000 people, month on month in the category.
A range of conferences, including the high-profile SXSW Australia, saw the Business Expos and Conferences sub-category rise by 29 per cent, or 57,000 people, month on month to reach an audience of 255,000.
The chart below shows the Events and Attractions brands’ ranking during October 2024 by online audience size.
Other industry categories record peak audience numbers and time spent online
Ipsos iris reported a number of increases in other categories, including a 11 per cent, or 967,000, online audience rise in the Energy and Utilities category year on year.
The Homes & Property category, buoyed by the Spring selling season, rose by 8 per cent, or 1 million year on year.
The Social Networking and Finance categories hit record audiences in October, at 21.4 million and 20.7 million, respectively – and the highest since the launch of Ipsos iris in January 2023.
The Automotive category hit a peak for time spent online per person, up 8 per cent to 21.21 minutes on average, while Health also peaked at 60.27 minutes on average, up by 20 per cent, in October – and both the highest since Ipsos iris’s launch.
More than 21 million Australians used the internet in October
Ipsos iris, Australia’s digital audience measurement currency endorsed by IAB Australia, showed that more than 21.4 million Australians aged 14+ used the internet in October and spent on average 4.6 hours per day, or almost 141 hours for the month, online.
The most consumed website and app categories in September were social networking (21.4 million), search engines (21.3 million), technology (21.3 million), retail and commerce (21.1 million) and entertainment (21 million).
Ipsos iris, which officially launched in March 2023, provides accurate data about the 21.4 million Australians aged 14+ who access a wide variety of digital content and services across smartphone, PC/laptop and tablet devices.
