Major news events such as the King’s Coronation ceremony, the Federal Budget, the NRL State of Origin, the death of MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo, Eurovision and the Met Gala drove interest in News websites and apps, with 20.2 million people using them during May, according to Ipsos iris, Australia’s digital audience measurement currency endorsed by the IAB Australia. Sites with traditionally strong UK coverage such as Daily Mail Australia, were boosted by the Coronation and Royals, as well as The Guardian that also saw strong Federal Budget interest among Australians.
The News category includes audience and time spent online on both general news and broader news content including weather, sport, lifestyle, entertainment, and business news. The chart below shows the News brands’ ranking during May 2023 by online audience size.
As cost of living pressures impact Australians, more than 8.4 million people aged 14+ used an energy supplier or utilities website or app in May. This represented an increase of 13.3% on April and the fastest growing audience of any category,
The Federal Government’s website where people can source energy rebates, Energy.gov.au, was the fastest growing brand in the category, with its audience jumping by 130% compared to April data. Women aged over 55 and low to middle income households were the most likely to have visited this site in May.
The sharp growth in interest in energy suppliers is being driven by increased concern among Australians over the cost of living, which was cited as the top concern among the population at 62% (up 3 percentage points), followed by housing at 39%, data from the May Ipsos Issues Monitor showed.
The chart below shows the energy supplier and utilities brands’ ranking during May 2023 by online audience size.
Interest among Australians spending time online rose by 6.3% in May over the month prior, with those aged 14+ spending 3.8 hours a day online. People aged 25-39 were the largest cohort online during May, while people aged 40 to 54 spent the most time online.
The most consumed online categories by total audience size in May included search (20.9 million), social networking (20.9 million), technology (20.9 million), retail and commerce (20.7 million), and entertainment (20.5 million).
Ipsos iris, which officially launched in March, provides accurate data about the 21 million Australians aged 14+ who access a wide variety of digital content and services across smartphone, PC/laptop and tablet devices.