Almost six million Australians are now accessing newspaper media on their mobile phones and tablets, according to latest data from emma (Enhanced Media Metrics Australia) for the 12 months to June 2015.
Almost six million Australians are now accessing newspaper media on their mobile phones and tablets, according to latest data from emma (Enhanced Media Metrics Australia) for the 12 months to June 2015.
While print remains the most popular means of reading newspaper content, the cross platform survey found that growth in mobile phone and tablet readership was ‘particularly strong,’ respectively growing 16 per cent and 3 per cent (up 431,000 and 76,000) year-on-year to reach 3.1 million and 2.7 million Australians over a four-week period. Desktop and laptop PC readership also rose, up 2 per cent or 191,000 readers.
Across both print and digital platforms, newspaper media reaches 16.4 million Australians over a four-week period, up 1 per cent from 16.3 million a year ago. But while digital readership grew 3 per cent to 11.6 million, print readership fell 4 per cent to 13.8 million readers.
“The continued growth of digital readership, particularly on smartphones, shows newspapers are meeting Australians’ desire for news on-the-go,” said Mark Hollands, CEO, The Newspaper Works.
“The latest emma data confirms the enduring popularity of print, with nearly 14 million consuming newspaper content in that format over a four-week period.
“Across print and digital platforms, six Australian mastheads each reach more than 2 million readers over four weeks, and another four reach more than 1 million – an impressive achievement in our fragmented landscape. It confirms newspapers’ influential place in Australians’ media mix," he said.
The survey found that newspaper media reaches 92 per cent of Australia’s metropolitan population, and nine in 10 adults aged 14 and over.
The PC is still the most popular digital platform among all major age groups, reaching 53 per cent of under-25s, 57 per cent of 25-39s, 65 per cent of 40-54s, and 54 per cent of people 55+.
Mobile reading is skewed towards younger readers, reaching 20 per cent of under-25s and 34 per cent of 25-39s over a four-week period, compared with 16 per cent of 40-54s and 3 per cent of people 55+.
Tablet reading has an older age skew. Only 10 per cent of under-25s consume newspaper content on tablets, compared with 21 per cent of 25-39s, 20 per cent of 40-54s, and 10 per cent of people 55+.
The Sydney Morning Herald again achieved Australia’s highest cross platform reach with a total audience of 5.11 million readers, followed by The Daily Telegraph with 4.12 million and the Herald Sun on 3.87 million and The Age with 3.08 million.
The Herald Sun (Monday-Friday) continues to have the largest average issue readership with 1.29 million followed by The Sunday Telegraph (1.13 million), the Saturday Herald Sun (1.08 million), the Sunday Herald Sun (1.03 million) and the Monday-Friday Daily Telegraph (983,000).
The Saturday Newcastle Herald is the most-read regional newspaper with 145,000 readers, followed by its daily counterpart with 132,000.