News media is read by 93 per cent of the adult population in print and on digital devices, with 76 per cent of people reading a newspaper, according to the latest emma (Enhanced Media Metrics Australia) data* released today.
Newspapers remained steady, reaching 13.7 million of the population. In addition, 11.3 million people, or 63 per cent of the population, read a metro newspaper in the past four weeks.
Digital audiences continue to grow with 13.2 million people accessing news media content on laptops/PCs, smartphones and tablets during April. The total audience for news media is steady at 16.8 million, or 93 per cent of Australians.
News media advertising campaigns help companies engage with decision makers across key categories, emma data reveals. For example, 79 per cent read a newspaper in the last four weeks and eight in ten household finance decision-makers read a newspaper last month.
Some 11.8 million newspaper readers are responsible for selecting their household’s telecommunications provider, while 11.3 million chose their household’s utility provider.
NewsMediaWorks CEO Mark Hollands said news publishers continued to deliver quality audiences, such as key household decision makers.
“News media delivers the large, quality audiences that advertisers seek, particularly when it comes to household decision makers in the key categories of grocery, telecommunications, finance and utilities. News media successfully connects advertisers to audiences and influences their decision making,” Hollands said.
Metropolitan titles continue to dominate the news media sector, reaching 63 per cent of the population, or 11.3 million print readers. Regional newspapers reach 3.4 million readers (19 per cent) while national titles delivered a combined print audience of 2.37 million.
According to the emma data for the 12 months to April 2016, The Sydney Morning Herald is Australia’s highest-reaching title across all platforms with 5.96 million readers. The Daily Telegraph followed, reaching 4.39 million readers and the Herald Sun on 4.4 million.
| emma cross platform readership (000s, last four weeks)* | April 2016 |
| Sydney Morning Herald / smh.com.au | 5967 |
| Daily Telegraph / thetelegraph.com.au | 4391 |
| Herald Sun / heraldsun.com.au | 4403 |
| The Age / theage.com.au | 3558 |
| The Australian / theaustralian.com.au | 3305 |
| Courier-Mail / couriermail.com.au | 3075 |
| West Australian / thewest.com.au ^ | 1745 |
| Adelaide Advertiser /AdelaideNow.com.au | 1742 |
| Financial Review / afr.com.au | 1679 |
| Sunday Times / perthnow.com.au | 1374 |
| Canberra Times / canberratimes.com.au | 846 |
| Gold Coast Bulletin / goldcoast.com.au | 534 |
| Sunshine Coast Daily / sunshinecoastdaily.com.au | 446 |
| Mercury (Tas) / themercury.com.au | 315 |
| Newcastle Herald/ theherald.com.au | 324 |
* Source: emmaTM, 12 months to April 2016. Readership based on last four weeks. Trends compared with 12 months to April 2015. Survey conducted by Ipsos MediaCT, people 14+, Nielsen Digital Ratings (Monthly), April 2016. The emma data for the 12 months to April 2016 includes the new Nielsen Digital Ratings Monthly (DRM). This replaces the previous digital currency, Nielsen Online Ratings (NOR). Due to this change of methodology, there is a trend break in the data that means digital audience comparisons to previous periods are not valid.
