At the beginning of the month, data from the Sky News Australia Audience Study 2023 was released to the public, unpacking consumers’ news consumption habits and preferences. The study showed growth of 21.5% over the last 24 months, with 11.1 million Australians now engaging with the brand each month.
See Also: Sky News Australia reports 21.5% 2-year audience growth, reaching 11.1m monthly
This is the second time the study has been conducted, two years after the inaugural report launched in 2021. Since then, Sky News has launched on several new platforms including Samsung TV Plus and Apple News. Flash has also launched since the last study.
Mediaweek spoke with Sky News Australia commercial director, Cathryn Adams, about what the results showed, and what the team will be doing now that they have the data.
“I can honestly say that I was pleasantly surprised – especially by the 21.5% increase since the 2021 study,” Adams said of the results.
“People’s viewing habits have changed so much, there is a lot of decline across the board simply due to fragmentation. I was quite surprised to see that we have had such significant growth, even though the key reason that we undertook the study was because we suspected there was growth.”
There was another standout stat from the study for Adams, who points out that for everything across both Sky News viewers and non-Sky News viewers, the headline word would be more.
“There are more people watching Sky News content on more platforms. People are going to more sources of news overall – both Sky News and non-Sky News viewers – and whatever viewers’ positions were on a variety of different topics, they are even more set now. Even our propensity to buy is more. Everything is just more.”
As for what it is that’s driving these results, Adams points to people’s behaviour shifting as they work to become more across the news.
“We’re living in a very politicised world, and people are becoming more and more involved,” said Adams. “Sky News is a news channel first and foremost, but we certainly have a huge focus on Australian politics and US politics. With the globalisation of media and mass communication, I think people are becoming more and more interested in politics – both at home and abroad.
“Our coverage is 24/7 and adapts to people’s viewing habits, which is, of course, on more devices at more times of the day. If we are out there and available on as many devices and platforms as possible across the day, then more people will automatically be tuning into Sky News.”
Whilst some may prefer to list Sky News as a small outlet, Adams makes the point that “It’s quite difficult to argue that 42% of the population engaging in a brand makes it a niche brand.”
“Sky News is a substantial brand, we have mass appeal and are covering content that is of huge relevance and interest to a majority of Australians. That’s really where the buck stops. Sky News is a brand that not only engages with a mass audience, but our viewers are more likely to spend on more categories than any other platform.”
With the study information now in hand, Mediaweek asks what the next step is for the team. Adams said that the first job will be making sure that the market is across the results.
“I’ll be using this to talk to Sky News’ broad appeal first and foremost. There’s a lot of misinformation and fake news out there – and ironically, some of that is about news providers like Sky News. My message is that if you’re buying and selling media, then before you make any decisions you should be really involved in watching and engaging in some of that media so that you can make your own mind up.”
–
Top Image: Cathryn Adams