Live music and cinema back on the agenda as events and attractions online audiences grow – Ipsos iris September data

More than 20 million Australians used a news website or app in September

23 October 2026 – Australians are returning to movies, concerts, music festivals and sporting matches, with events and attractions website visitation increasing in September, Ipsos iris data released today reveals.

Despite the continuing cost-of-living crisis and recent interest rate rises, Australians are still supporting live music, sport and cinema, with audience numbers on events and attractions website and apps up 2.3% month-on-month, increasing from 12.4 million to 12.7 million in September.

Those aged 18 to 24 were the most likely age group to interact with events and attractions websites and apps in September, while women were more likely to engage than men (67% of women compared to 55% of men) with these platforms.

Music events websites and apps increased their audience substantially in September, with visitation to entertainment website Live Nation rising by 3.4%, on the back of ticket releases for upcoming Australian tours from singer Bruno Mars, DJ Calvin Harris, actor and performer Suki Waterhouse, and US band The Strokes.

Visits to events and ticketing brands like Ticketek also increased in September, with its audience growing by more than 6% month-on-month from 3.4 million to 3.6 million. While event ticketing platform Eventbrite increased its audience by 3% month-on-month from 2.68 million to 2.76 million.

Ticketmaster also experienced a large audience uptick in September, increasing by over 22% from 1.6 million to 1.9 million month-on-month, driven by major events like Australian DJ Dom Dolla’s homecoming show and the first-ever NFL regular-season game held in Australia.

The Hoyts website and app saw audience growth of 5.3% month-on-month from 2.1 million to 2.2 million, while Village Cinemas’ website audience grew 9.7% from 673,000 to 739,000, spurred by an influx of new release films, including Heart of the Beast, starring Brad Pitt, the new Resident Evil movie, and the highly anticipated Practical Magic 2.

The chart below shows the events/attractions brands’ ranking during September 2026 by online audience size.

The AFL was Australia’s largest news content driver in September; football also dominated international sports consumption

According to the latest Ipsos iris data, 20.2 million people used a news website or app in September, reaching 95% of online Australians aged 18 and over. Users spent an average of 3.19 hours during September reading news online.

The AFL was the nation’s biggest content driver in September, with stories around the 2026 finals series dominating coverage, particularly the Brisbane Lions’ premiership victory, Lachie Neale’s tribunal saga after he successfully beat a one-match ban to play in the grand final, live blogs covering the final matches and grand final, Brownlow Medal discussions and post-season analysis.

A shark attack in Perth was one of Australia’s biggest breaking news stories in September, with multiple reports covering the attack on Sorrento Beach, along with subsequent investigations and beach safety concerns. Coverage of the NRL finals series, particularly Penrith Panthers’ co-captain Nathan Cleary’s injury and the Dally M awards, and the death of former Bondi Rescue lifeguard Matt Dee also sparked nationwide interest.

Globally, football (soccer) dominated international sports consumption, driven by scores, fixtures, transfers, league tables and live match coverage across major publishers, with big tournaments like the UEFA kicking off in late September.

The 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks also generated significant readership, along with stories relating to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their move to the UK, and the death of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber’s son Presley Gerber.

The chart below shows the News brands’ ranking during September 2026 by online audience size.

More than 21 million Australians use the internet in September

Ipsos iris, Australia’s digital audience measurement currency endorsed by IAB Australia, showed that 21.2 million Australians aged over 18 used the internet in September, spending an average of 5.23 hours daily online – up slightly from last month’s average of 5.14.

The most consumed categories in September were online media (21.13 million), social networking (21.12 million), technology (21.1 million), search engines (21.08 million), and entertainment (20.9 million).

Methodology change: From the July 2026 reporting period, Ipsos iris audience measurement is based on Australians aged 18 years and over, with 14–17-year-olds no longer included in reported digital audience figures. As a result, updated guidelines for the use of Ipsos iris data in market communications no longer permit comparisons between historical 14+ audience data (all reporting periods before July 2026) and the new 18+ audience data (July 2026 onwards). Comparisons across the trend break, including measures such as percentage growth or decline in website or app audiences, are not valid and should not be used.

Notes for editors:

Ipsos iris is an independent source of truth for the media industry providing a level playing field for comparison of audience reach and characteristics and supporting the $19.8 billion Australian online advertising market (Source: IAB Australia Internet Advertising Revenue Report PWC FY 26)
Ipsos iris provides accuracy in solving cross-device deduplication, the biggest challenge in measuring online audiences, using a single-source multi-device panel measuring activity on 8,000 smartphone, PC, laptop and tablet devices.
Ipsos iris provides accurate data about the number of people who visit the content of digital publishers and platforms, along with the frequency of visits and time spent by tracking digital audience behaviour across desktop/laptop, smartphone, and tablets. It uses a hybrid methodology that combines metered data from a high quality, nationally representative, single-source passive panel with site-centric census measurement via media owner tagging.
In February 2024, the CTV audience currency integration from a data partnership with OzTAM launched, providing total unduplicated digital audience currency data for BVOD across CTV, smartphones, tablets, and computers.
In August 2024, enriched YouTube audience reach and watch time data for Connected TV across mobile, desktop and tablets was integrated into Ipsos iris, in collaboration with Google and IAB Australia.
Ipsos iris is fully privacy compliant and cross-media ready and will continue to evolve with a roadmap of enhancements over 2024 and beyond. It will also be adaptable to changing requirements as the industry develops in future years.
The launch of Ipsos iris with monthly data from January 2023 was the culmination of extensive work by the IAB and its Measurement Council that commenced in early 2021 with a strategic review of industry requirements. Ipsos was awarded the IAB’s endorsement, having best met the standards on criteria across all areas of product along with criteria for operations and a future roadmap.
Further information can be found at: https://iris-au.ipsos.com/