Newspaper Works releases State of Australian Newspapers report
The Newspaper Works has released The State of Australian Newspapers report .
The announcement:
August 22, 2011 –
The Newspaper Works today released a new report showing 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.
The report, entitled The State of Australian Newspapers 2011 shows that advertising revenue growth from digital newspapers in Australia (up by 236 per cent from 2006 to 2010) has outstripped ad revenue growth on the internet (up by 100 per cent from 2006-2010) in Australia*.
In addition, Australian newspapers are forecast to generate $317 million (up 11 per cent 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 State of Australian Newspapers report found.
Seven of the top 10 news websites in Australia are owned by newspaper publishers, while it is estimated that more than one million newspaper branded apps have now been downloaded.
The Newspaper Works CEO, Tony Hale, said: “This latest report into the health of the Australian newspaper industry shows a robust future lies ahead, and one for which newspapers in this country are successfully transforming themselves to take maximum advantage.
“Australian consumers have enthusiastically embraced newspapers delivered via digital platforms, and this, coupled with Australia’s unique structural advantages compared with other markets, paves the way for solid future growth.
“To date digital newspapers have already driven strong revenue growth, which is forecast to continue,” Hale said.
Printed newspaper ad revenue in 2010 reached $3.665 billion, with an additional $259 million in digital newspaper advertising revenue, according to CEASA and PwC figures.
When search, directories and classifieds are removed from ad revenue, printed newspapers’ share of ad revenue has remained stable over the past five years at around 27 per cent. In 2010 total display advertising revenue grew 6.5 per cent to $2.556 billion, CEASA data found.
“Although structural changes are underway, newspaper advertising revenue is primarily driven by the cyclical nature of Australia’s economy, tracking closely to the level of consumer demand in the economy,” Hale said.
“The worsening retail conditions in Australia will impact the level of ad revenue newspapers receive, like most other media.”
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.
Other key highlights of The 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 per cent in 2010, compared with 1 per cent growth in the UK while in the US it fell by 10 per cent, 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 per cent of all people in a week whereas the top two titles in New York reach 39 per cent and the top two in London reach 44 per cent.
Australians spent approximately $1.3 billion buying newspapers in 2010, almost as much as Australians spent on magazines and recorded music combined.
Source: *PwC Australian Entertainment & Media Outlook 2011-2015
Source: The Newspaper Works press release
