New readership and circulation data was released to the market this week by emma and the Audited Media Association.
See the new Mediaweek magazine for detailed newspaper and magazine circulation and readership results.
Below is a summary of some of the releases from publishers commenting on the figures.
News Corp Australia: CEO Peter Tonagh
“This week saw the latest release of data from the ABC, emma and Nielsen. The data affirms our strategy for growth, with positive news in all platform categories.
“When it comes to print, our investment in our content, and our promotion and distribution, is working – the rate of decline in our print circulation has decreased markedly over the past year, and we are performing significantly better than our competitors.
“Meanwhile our digital subscriptions continue to go from strength to strength. The Herald Sun now has almost 67,000 digital subscribers, which is up 35% on the same time a year ago, and The Australian now has over 75,000 digital subscribers, which is up 14% on the same time last year.
“The emma data confirms noone comes close to the reach and engagement that we have with Australians, with our total audience reach extending to over 15.5 million Australians each month or 86% of the Australian population.
“Our mobile audience continues to show healthy growth, with 4.5m Australians engaging with us via their mobiles each month, which is a near 10% year-on-year improvement.
“And finally, we are thrilled that news.com.au has retained its number one ranking for January. This is its 16th consecutive month in the top spot, making it the clear leader in the category. News.com.au continues to power ahead, with its audience up 11.9% compared to December, which is more than double the category trend.”
Fairfax Media’s Australian publishing media commercial & marketing services director: Tom Armstrong
“Australia’s number one go-to news destination was The Sydney Morning Herald throughout all of 2015, with its quality, independent journalism and content delivered across digital and print platforms attracting 874,000 more readers than its closest competitor in December.
“The SMH grew its mobile and tablet audience by 14% year-on-year to reach 4.9 million people across all platforms in December, whileThe Age grew its mobile and tablet audience 4% year-on-year to reach 3 million people across all platforms in December.
“The SMH and The Age are significant drivers of Fairfax’s extensive network of newspapers and websites. The Fairfax network reaches 10.7 million or 60% of Australians each month.
“afr.com continues to achieve impressive digital growth, with the PC/laptop audience up 44% and tablet/mobile up 88% year-on-year. The Australian Financial Review reaches a premium national audience of 1.5 million people each month across all platforms, up 11% year-on-year.”
Pacific Magazines: CEO Peter Zavecz
Pacific Magazines, the publishing arm of Seven West Media, has delivered its tenth consecutive quarter of total audience growth.
Peter Zavecz, CEO, Pacific Magazines, comments: “These results speak to the success of our transformation strategy as we continue to strengthen our competitive position with rapid total audience growth.
“Our magazine brands are leaders in their respective categories. Our business model has impressive multiplatform reach, backed with data and digital clout – and just 20 months into our new direction, the sum of our consumer touch points is in excess of 20 million.
“We are now well positioned for continued growth. During the next 12 months we will extend our brands into new platforms, increase our footprint, launch major new online plays and continue to develop attractive new revenue streams.”
Over the last 12 months, Pacific Magazines’ total cross platform monthly brand impressions has soared by 4.3 million – or 26% – to now sit at more than 20.7 million.
Pacific Magazines’ circulation share is also at an all-time high of 36%.
NewsLifeMedia: CEO Nicole Sheffield
NewsLifeMedia outperformed the market this audit with the latest figures revealing an overall publisher increase of 4.9% year-on-year, according to the Audited Media Association of Australia survey ending December 2015.
NewsLifeMedia’s CEO Nicole Sheffield said: “I’m very pleased with our circulation results this audit: all of our home titles increased withInside Out achieving the largest rate of growth year-on-year in the homes category, we now have the top four food titles in the country with numbers overall being stable, and Vogue Australia continues to be a standout performer with the largest increase in the fashion category.
“Our unrelenting focus on the consumer and what they are reading, and how we can best service them to ensure our content is available wherever and whenever they want to consume it, is delivering extraordinary results.”
NewsLifeMedia’s homes category continues to build following expansion and investment in the brands.Inside Out, Vogue Living and Country Style all increased circulation.
Bauer Media Group: executive board member Andreas Schoo
“Bauer Media is the number one media company in Australia when it comes to understanding women and is home to the biggest selling monthly magazine [The Australian Women’s Weekly] and the highest selling weekly magazine [Woman’s Day].
“Magazines continue to be an incredibly important medium to engage with Australians and the strength of our brands allows us to talk to more consumers more often through print, digital, social and live experience channels.
“This is why we have invested heavily in our To Love digital network which adds another dimension to our leading consumer brands including Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Australian Gourmet Traveller, The Australian Women’s Weekly and Woman’s Day as well as introducing new brands Food to Love and Homes to Love. Our digital network is fast approaching its first anniversary and is delivering significant audience growth for Bauer.
“Our focus is on delivering the best content and experiences across all platforms for readers and advertisers alike.”