The readership estimates below are ‘average issue readership’ (AIR) over a 12 month period, and represent the number, or %, of Australians who read or look into an average issue of the particular publication.
This provides an estimate of the ‘reach’ an advertiser can expect to achieve with advertising placed in the publication.
The total reach – ‘cross-platform’ reach is greater than the ‘average issue reach’ of a publication as it includes additional readers and cover a 4 week period, rather than an average issue.
Print Newspaper Summary - March 2020
Print Newspapers read by around 5.8 million Australians (28%) in early 2020
More than 5.8 million Australians read the listed print newspapers, including around 4.1 million who read weekday issues, almost 3.4 million who read Saturday editions and almost 3 million who read Sunday titles. Although print readership has declined year-on-year, these figures show almost 3-in-10 Australians read print newspapers. In today’s digitally-focused world print newspapers continue to be an important advertising medium to reach both mass and niche audiences.
Weekend Newspaper Readership down from a year ago pre COVID-19 pandemic
Australia’s best read weekend newspaper is again Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph with an average issue print readership of 587,000 – down 24.7 per cent over the past year – ahead of southern stablemate Melbourne’s Sunday Herald Sun which has a print readership of 562,000 (down 17.6 per cent).
Other major titles to decline included the Saturday Herald Sun down 14.7 per cent to a readership of 541,000, The Weekend Australian down 11.8 per cent to 524,000, The Sunday Mail in Queensland down 18.5 per cent to 475,000, the Saturday Sydney Morning Herald down 14.8 per cent to 461,000 and Melbourne’s Saturday Age down 14.9 per cent to 428,000 readers.
Top Weekend Newspapers – Ranked by Print Readership*
|
Publication
|
Mar 2019
|
Mar 2020
|
% Change
|
|
|
‘000s
|
‘000s
|
%
|
|
Sunday Telegraph
|
780
|
587
|
-24.7%
|
|
Sunday Herald Sun
|
682
|
562
|
-17.6%
|
|
Saturday Herald Sun
|
634
|
541
|
-14.7%
|
|
The Weekend Australian
|
594
|
524
|
-11.8%
|
|
The Sunday Mail (Qld)
|
583
|
475
|
-18.5%
|
|
Saturday SMH
|
541
|
461
|
-14.8%
|
|
Saturday Age
|
503
|
428
|
-14.9%
|
*Print readership is average issue readership.
The Examiner in Launceston stands out with a significant increase in print readership
The best performing regional newspaper over the past year has clearly been The Examiner based in the Tasmanian city of Launceston which increased its weekday readership by 14.3 per cent to 32,000.
However, the most widely read regional newspaper is its southern counterpart The Hobart Mercury with a readership of 48,000 (down 7.7 per cent) alongside the Newcastle Herald on 48,000 (down 14.3 per cent).
The Gold Coast Bulletin is in a clear third position with a readership of 43,000 (down 17.3 per cent).
Top Monday – Friday Regional Newspapers – Ranked by Print Readership*
|
Publication
|
Mar 2019
|
Mar 2020
|
% Change
|
|
|
‘000s
|
‘000s
|
%
|
|
The Hobart Mercury
|
52
|
48
|
-7.7%
|
|
Newcastle Herald
|
56
|
48
|
-14.3%
|
|
Gold Coast Bulletin
|
52
|
43
|
-17.3%
|
|
Canberra Times
|
41
|
41
|
-
|
|
Townsville Bulletin
|
43
|
38
|
-11.6%
|
|
Geelong Advertiser
|
40
|
34
|
-15.0%
|
|
The (Launceston) Examiner
|
28
|
32
|
14.3%
|
*Print readership is average issue readership.