Online news reach slips in January as audience declines hit major publishers

Online news reach softened in January, with Ipsos iris data showing a broad decline across most of Australia’s major publishers despite a month major news events.

According to Ipsos iris, 20.7 million Australians used a news website or app in January, reaching 93.4% of the online population aged 14 and over. The figure represents a drop from 97.5% recorded at the same time last year.

The contraction came even as time spent with news edged higher. Australians spent an average of 5.14 hours consuming online news content during the month, up slightly from 5.09 hours a year earlier.

The audience dip was reflected across the rankings, where most leading news brands recorded month-on-month declines. Daily Mail Australia posted one of the sharper falls, down close to 12%, while ABC News, news.com.au, nine.com.au, 7news.com.au, The Guardian Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald and BBC.com also recorded lower audiences compared to December.

SBS News and Yahoo News were among the few major players to record audience growth across the month.

Ipsos attributed January’s news consumption patterns to a mix of major scheduled events and rolling breaking coverage. The Australian Open drove sustained traffic spikes throughout the tournament, while extreme weather, including bushfires and heatwaves across multiple states, reinforced demand for service-driven updates such as live blogs, alerts and maps.

Crime, tragedy and entertainment news also featured prominently in audience behaviour, alongside international stories tied to geopolitical instability and global incidents.

The softer reach figures arrive amid ongoing fragmentation across Australia’s digital attention economy. While news usage declined year-on-year, Ipsos iris reported continued growth across other categories, with homes and property recording the strongest annual increase.

More than 15 million Australians visited property-related websites and apps in January, making it the fastest-growing content category over the past year. Search engines, entertainment, social networking and retail and commerce also posted gains.

Overall internet usage remained stable, with Ipsos iris reporting that 22.127 million Australians aged 14 and over were online in January, spending an average of 5.06 hours per day on digital content.

For publishers and marketers, the January data underscores a familiar but sharpening tension. Audience reach continues to fluctuate, yet engagement levels remain resilient, suggesting users are spending longer with fewer news brands rather than abandoning news consumption altogether.

News Corp Australia retained its position as the country’s largest news and information publisher by online audience, reaching 17.82 million Australians during the month. The company reported strong engagement metrics, including increased browser page views per person and rising video consumption.

Managing director and publisher of free news and lifestyle, Pippa Leary (pictured), said editorial strategies centred on lifestyle, sport, entertainment and travel content contributed to month-on-month gains in engaged reach.

The January results highlight the volatility of digital news consumption patterns, particularly during holiday periods when audience behaviour traditionally shifts and competition from non-news categories intensifies.