SMH stays on top despite audience drop

Sarah Homewood
By Sarah Homewood | 16 March 2015
 

The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) remains the most read newspaper in Australia according to the latest emma (Enhanced Media Metrics Australia) data, despite the title's readership dipping by over 100,000.

The SMH's total readership for the 12 months to January 2015 sits at 4.9 million, which is down from last month when the title drew in 5.1 million readers.

The SMH is followed by News Corp publication The Daily Telegraph on 4.3 million, which is holding steady from the previous month.

According to the industry body for newspapers, The Newspaper Works, mobile has fuelled growth in total newspaper readership, which has risen by 1% to 16.3 million readers across combined print and digital platforms.

Printed newspapers continue to contribute the largest audience, with 14.4 million readers, or 81% of the population. Digital readers now number 10.6 million readers, or 59% of the population, a year-on-year increase of 5%.

Digital audience growth was led by mobile readership, which jumped to 26% from 2.2 million to 2.8 million.

The Newspaper Works CEO Mark Hollands said: “The digital consumption of newspapers continues to grow, and the rapid growth in mobile demonstrates that Australians turn to trusted newspaper brands.

“Printed newspapers remain a vital source of news, information and entertainment for 81% of the Australian population and are still a viable and effective medium for both readers and advertisers. Digital readers also engage with print, with 82% of digital readers, or 8.7 million people, also reading printed newspapers.”

When it comes to magazines Woman's Day remains on top, with the title gaining a total audience of 3.6 million. Woman's Day is followed by New Idea on 3.4 million. Taste.com.au comes in third with the web first title continuing to see strong online numbers, with the publication drawing in an audience of 1.6 million compared to 698,000 in print and 2.9 million in total audience.

See the numbers below for yourself:

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