Politicians falling over, a reprieve through Stage 3 tax cuts, wars and storms drove consumption of Australia’s news websites and apps in February, according to the latest Ipsos iris content consumption data.

In February, over 20.6 million Australians aged 14 and above used a news website or app, reaching 96.3% of the online population. This significant digital consumption was driven by key political events, wars, storms, and other news stories.

News.com.au led the brand list for audience with 12.423 million in February, down 4.5% from the previous month. ABC News was second with an audience of just over 11 million, down 2.6% month-on-month. Nine.com.au was third with an audience of 9.967 million, down 0.4% by month. Daily Mail Australia (9.489m) and 7news.com.au (8.262m) rounded out the top five.

Outside of The Daily mail, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age were the only brands showing an increase month-on-month, with increases of 5.6% and 8% respectively.

Among the topical political news events was Barnaby Joyce’s fitness to remain in politics after his ‘fall’ from grace, the stage three tax cuts redesign, the prospect of interest rate cuts, and former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s final day in politics. Other news stories to engage consumers included the ongoing wars in Gaza and the Ukraine, the Victorian storms, the murders of Luke Davies and Jessie Baird and missing mother Samantha Murphy, the Grammy Awards and NFL Superbowl.

The most consumed website and app categories in February were search engines, social networking, technology, retail and commerce, and entertainment.

Another notable finding was 13.8 million people aged 14+ used a career website or app in February, with time spent on these sites and apps up 14.9% per person from January. LinkedIn topped the list of career websites and apps with a monthly audience of 10.791m, down 0.9% month-on-month. It was followed by Seek (6.080m, 28min), then Indeed (3.431m, 18min).

The fastest growing category in February was energy supplier/utilities, rising by 5.2% compared to January. The events and attractions category rose by 2.4%, with the music events sub-category jumping 68% compared to the previous month thanks to Swiftie mania following Taylor Swift's arrival in Australia.

The average time spent online in the Education category increased by 15.5% as children returned to schools and young people to universities.

Overall, 21.499 million Australians aged 14+ used the internet in February and spent an average of 4.4 hours a day online.

Ipsos iris officially launched in March 2023 and provides cross-device 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. In February 2024, the CTV audience currency integration from a data partnership with OzTAM launched, providing total unduplicated digital audience currency data for CTV, smartphones, tablets, and computers.