Over 20.6 million people used a news website or app in October accounting for 96.2 per cent of online Australians aged 14 and over, according to the latest data from Ipsos iris for October 2024 shows that

Ipsos iris, endorsed by IAB Australia, provides accurate data about the number of people who access a wide variety of digital content and services across smartphone, PC/laptop and tablet devices.

October data highlights audience interest in high-profile events such as the visit of King Charles and Queen Camilla to Australia, the US election, and the finales of popular reality TV shows like The Block, MKR and The Voice Australia.

Other events driving spikes in interest included local Queensland Election results, Hurricane Milton making landfall in Florida and the tragic death of former One Direction star Liam Payne.

In news rankings, ABC News was the top news site in October, despite a 1 per cent drop in monthly audience to 11,741 and 6 per cent decline in average minutes spent per person to 31. News Corp Australia's news.com.au was in second position, with audiences down 6 per cent to 11,132 and average minutes lifting 10 per cent to 32. Nine.com.au, in third place, saw a 7 per cent uplift in audience for 9,778, while 7new.com.au, in fourth, rose 3 per cent to 8,309.

Commenting on its result, News Corp Australia claimed to be the top news and video publisher in the News category, with an overall audience of 13.835 million and 510 million browser page views and a video news audience of 2.146 million, with 53 million video views for the month.

Managing Director and Publisher Free News and Lifestyle, Pippa Leary, said: “In the News category, we have an engaged reach of almost 37 page views per person which is more than 50 percent higher than our nearest competitor. Our engaged reach is stronger than ever and means better outcomes for our clients. Having a highly engaged audience who seek out our trusted brands, visit multiple pages and spend real time on our sites is critical to our success and the success of our clients.”

Overall, more than 21.4 million Australians aged 14 and over used the internet in October, spending an average of 4.6 hours per day online.

The most consumed website and app categories in September were social networking (21.4 million), search engines (21.3 million), technology (21.3 million), retail and commerce (21.1 million) and entertainment (21 million).

The events and attractions category rose 2 per cent month-on-month to 13.9 million, in light of the warmer months and live music festival season. It represents an 11 per cent year-on-year increase.

In particular, the Music Events sub-category saw a significant 30 per cent jump in visitors month-on-month, driven by ticket sales for Oasis, Laneway and Knotfest. Young people aged 14 to 24 drove the increases, with a huge 97 per cent month on month jump in online audiences. Meanwhile, the 40 to 54 ‘Oasis generation’ swelled by 28 per cent month on month in the category.

The Business Expos and Conferences sub-category rose by 29 per cent month-on-month to reach an audience of 255,000, driven by high-profile conferences like SXSW Australia. Other categories such as Energy and Utilities, Homes & Property, Social Networking and Finance also saw increases in online audiences. The Automotive and Health categories hit a peak for time spent online per person in October.