Rise in readers choosing The Australian

The Australian has cemented its position as the pre-eminent ­national newspaper, recording extraordinary print and digital growth over the past year.

The Australian Editor in Chief Christopher Dore.

The Australian has cemented its position as the pre-eminent ­national newspaper, recording extraordinary print and digital growth during the coronavirus crisis.

The masthead recorded the strongest national digital growth of any major newspaper in the country, with its online audience numbers surging by 47 per cent over the 12 months to June this year, to more than three million digital readers.

The total audience for The Australian — print and digital — now exceeds 4.4 million.

Over the past six months, during the COVID-19 crisis, The Australian has recorded print growth of 3.4 per cent, with The Weekend Australian up by 0.4 per cent. Readership of The Weekend Australian’s magazine rose 5.2 per cent over the same period.

All ten of The Australian’s sections recorded audience growth, with Commercial Property and Media up 47 and 43 per cent respectively. Wish magazine rose by 17 per cent, while The Deal boasted a 5 per cent increase in readership numbers.

The Australian’s performance compares favourably to its rivals. Industry-wide data shows digital news readership jumped just 9 per cent (compared to 47 per cent for The Australian) for the 12 months to June, with cross-platform readership up three per cent, according to Enhanced Media Metrics Australia.

Mal Dale, general manager at The Readership Works, which issues the EMMA data, says the heightened demand for news, especially during an event such as the coronavirus crisis, shows how important trusted news and information is for all Australians.

“Now, more than ever, trust matters. It’s at the heart of Australia’s news brands; renowned for professionally produced, quality journalism that 95 per cent of the population relies on.”

News Corp Australia remains the largest print and digital publisher in Australia, with a total audience of 17 million readers per month across all of its publications. Nine newspapers, and its digital offerings, attract an audience of 16.4 million per month.

In the past quarter, several News Corp print metro titles recorded gains. The Herald Sun’s Saturday edition grew by 3.8 per cent, the Courier-Mail on Saturday rose 1.2 per cent, the Advertiser upped its audi­ence by 1.1 per cent, while two of the stable’s Sunday papers — the Sunday Herald Sun in Victoria and the Sunday Mail in Queensland — lifted by 3.1 per cent and 3.0 per cent respectively.

Over the year to June, News Corp’s two major metropolitan newspapers, The Herald Sun and The Daily Telegraph, saw their digital readerships rise by 6.8 and 2.7 per cent respectively.