Australians’ appetite for digital news remains enormous, with 21.3 million people, 96 per cent of the online population aged 14+, visiting a news website or app in August, according to the latest Ipsos iris figures.
That number was slightly up on July, with Australians are now spending almost five hours a day (4.78 hours) on news content across desktop, mobile and tablet.
Ipsos iris serves as Australia’s endorsed digital audience measurement system under the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). It measures digital behaviour across 22 million Australians aged 14+ and tracks activity across smartphone, tablet, and desktop.
Breaking stories fuel engagement
Crime and big-ticket entertainment drove audiences in August. Among the biggest draws were the manhunt for Victorian fugitive Dezi Freeman, the Mount Waverley double murder of a pregnant woman and her partner, and Australia’s expulsion of the Iranian ambassador after allegations of antisemitic attacks.
Entertainment and sport also played their part, from the 2025 Logies red carpet to AFL Black Monday fallout.
Globally, traffic surged around the Trump and Putin summit in Alaska, the Ukraine war, an Italian broccoli recall that turned deadly, and the incident involving a CEO stealing the hat of Polish tennis player Kamil Majchrzak from a child.
Top Ten News Category
As a result, the Ipsos iris ranking of top news digital sites shows ABC News at number one in audience with 13 million, up 2.2 per cent from July.
News.com.au saw impressive success in August as their audience rose 5.4 per cent to 12.7 million.
Conversely, nine.com.au slipped 10.7 per cent to 9.1 million, staying in third position but dropping further behind the leaders.
Daily Mail Aus suffered the biggest fall, down 11.9 per cent to 6.5 million, slipping one place from sixth to seventh and behind the Sydney Morning Herald who lost 2.2 per cent of their audience. The Guardian Australia recorded a strong lift among the major news brand titles, up 8.6 per cent to nearly 8.1 million.
7NEWS.com.au held on to fourth position despite slipping one per cent month-on-month in audience. Meanwhile, The Australian was August’s standout climber, soaring 45.1 per cent to 5.2 million, vaulting into the Top 10. SBS News left the Top Ten News Category.
Average time spent per person on the sites across the category was 8,900 minutes, a marginal 1.4 per cent decline from July, but several brands saw a double-digit plunge, including 7NEWS.com.au (-14.3%), The Guardian (-10%) and The Australian (-16.7%).
The chart below shows the News brands’ ranking during August 2025 by online audience size.
August 2025 Ipsos iris news brands data