Mobile news media readership up 16% year-on-year

• 91% of Australians read newspaper media reports new emma data

Australians are increasingly turning to their smartphones to read news media, with readership on mobile devices jumping 16% year-on-year to 3.6 million, according to the latest emma (Enhanced Media Metrics Australia) data released today.

Accessing news and information on smartphones is emerging as a clear favourite among Australians and growing more quickly than other digital platforms. PCs/laptops, however, still remain the most popular way to read news media at 9.4 million, while news media on tablets is read by 3 million.

Readership of news media across digital platforms remains steady at 11.4 million, or 63% of the population.

Print still dominates as the preferred medium for the majority of news media readers, at 13.8 million or 77% of the population.

Newspapers also provide a valuable audience to advertisers, with 95% of the "high value" (managers and professionals) audience reading news media each month. Eight in 10 read print newspapers, while 78% access news media via digital platforms and 35% read news media on their smartphones.

“The early commitment by Australians news media publishers to continuous innovation and evolution of their brands across all platforms has paid off and the emma data demonstrates that news media audiences are both large and engaged, providing a valuable target for advertisers,” The Newspaper Works CEO Mark Hollands said.

“The emma data shows that readers are accessing their news content from a range of platforms depending when, where and how they like it.”

The Sydney Morning Herald finished 2015 with Australia’s largest cross-platform readership, reaching 4.9 million readers. The Daily Telegraph followed with 4 million readers and the Herald Sun with 3.9 million.

(See table below)

Source: The Newspaper Works

Image: Japanexperterna