World politics and sport dominate reader interest in June – Ipsos iris data

Online travel brand readership hits 2024 peak, as Aussies seek mid-year break

22 July 2024 – The US presidential debate was a hot topic on news websites and apps during June, as Aussies sought out the latest updates on Donald Trump, Joe Biden and the 2024 US presidential campaign, Ipsos iris data for June has revealed.

While international politics dominated the headlines, other breaking news and sporting events, both locally and globally, also captured Australians’ attention across news websites and apps.

Major stories, including toxic carcinogens in drinking water nationally, NSW’s win in State of Origin Game 2, the disappearance and subsequent discovery of British TV producer Michael Mosely’s body, the lead-up to the UK general election and the Euro Football Championship, had Australians flocking to digital news websites and apps as an essential source for their news.

More than 20.7 million people used a news website or app in June, reaching 96.8% of online Australians aged 14+.

The chart below shows the News brands’ ranking during June 2024 by online audience size.

Ipsos iris, Australia’s digital audience measurement currency endorsed by IAB Australia, showed that overall, 21.4 million Australians aged 14+ used the internet in June, spending an average of 4.5 hours online per day, or almost 135 hours for the month.

Search engines were the most consumed website and app categories in June at 21.3 million, followed by social networking (21.3 million), technology (21.3 million), retail and commerce (21.1million) and entertainment (21 million).

The end of the financial year sales had Australians searching for bargains, with the automotive category reaching its largest audience number this year at 12.2 million, up by 2% or 276,000 month-on-month.

Key sports events including the men’s T20 Cricket World Cup, rugby league State of Origin, and the Euro 2024 Football Championships, saw consumption of sports websites and apps increase by 3%
(+383,000) in June.

Home and property also grew, up 3%, or 452,000, on last month’s figures.

The chilly weather may have driven people inside and onto their devices, with entertainment websites and apps also up significantly in June. The average time spent online for the month was up 8.3%, with Australians consuming a considerable 129 minutes more on average than the previous month.

Travel reaches 2024 peak

In June, the travel category recorded its biggest audience number so far for 2024.

The rise was likely driven by the lead-up to the July school holidays, with many families seeking a mid-year break in the sunshine. End-of-year travel sales may also have contributed to the rise, as Aussies sought to secure a deal on their next holiday.

The largest audience increases month-on-month were tourist information, which jumped by 3.5% to nearly 7.5 million, and hotel, resort and home sharing, which increased by 3.1% to nearly 7.9 million.

The chart below shows the Travel brands’ ranking during June 2024 by online audience size.

Ipsos iris, which officially launched in March 2023, provides accurate data about the 21.4 million Australians aged 14+ who access a wide variety of digital content and services across smartphone, PC/laptop and tablet devices.

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 $14.7 billion Australian online advertising market (https://iabaustralia.com.au/resource/online-advertising-expenditure-report-cy23-december-quarter-23/)
  • 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 CTV, smartphones, tablets, and computers.
  • Announced in May 2024, enriched YouTube audience reach and watch time data across mobile, desktop and tablets will be integrated into Ipsos iris from the second half of 2024, 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/