2011 Report

The 2011 report shows that Australian newspapers are well-placed to take full advantage of the future and are poised to benefit from the burgeoning consumer take-up of digital platforms.

JANUARY 2012 UPDATE:  This version of the 2011 report includes the latest available CEASA ad revenue data, for fiscal year 2011, including comparisons with SMI.  Also included is the latest WARC international forecast for newspaper revenue in 2012.  Other updates include estimates of newspaper app downloads, and newspaper weekly reach.

The State of Australian Newspapers 2011 report shows that advertising revenue growth from digital newspapers in Australia (up by 236% from 2006 to 2010) has outstripped ad revenue growth on the internet (up by 100% from 2006-2010) in Australia*. 

Australian newspapers are also forecasted to generate $317 million (up 11% compared with 2011) in digital ad revenue in 2012, according to the PwC Australian Entertainment & Media Outlook 2011-2015 report, released earlier this month.

Now delivered across print, online, tablets and smart phones, newspapers in this country continue to set the daily news agenda more than any other medium, unlike their counterparts in the US and UK, where cable TV and the BBC respectively command the news every day. 

The Australian Newspaper Performance 2011 report follows the recent PwC Australia Entertainment & Media Outlook, and includes data drawn from that report, including ad revenue forecasts.

Key highlights of The 2011 State of Australian Newspapers report include:

  • Newspapers in Australia continue to outperform those in the US and UK. Newspaper revenue in Australia grew by 5.6% in 2010, compared with 1% growth in the UK while in the US it fell by 10%, according to data from CEASA and WARC.
  • Australia has structural advantages over the US and UK, including population density which leads to more defined markets with fewer titles competing.
  • Newspapers in Australia still provide mass reach. For example, The Age and Herald Sun in Melbourne reach 72% of all people in a week whereas the top two titles in New York reach 39% and the top two in London reach 44%.
  • Australians spent approximately $1.3 billion buying newspapers in 2010, almost as much as Australians spent on magazines and recorded music combined.

Download the full report below. 

Source:*PwC Australian Entertainment & Media Outlook 2011-2015

January 2012




The State of Australian Newspapers 2011 (7m, PowerPoint (.ppt) format)

January 2012 update.