news.com.au overtakes ABC News as Australia’s most-read news brand in September

news.com.au has knocked ABC News off the top of the Ipsos iris news rankings. It reached 10.99 million Australians aged 18 and over in September, ahead of ABC News, which reached 10.97 million, according to Ipsos iris data for September 2026.

news.com.au grew its audience 4.7% month-on-month from 10.50 million in August. Over the same period, ABC News fell 3.0% to 11.31 million, losing the top spot by a margin of 25,000 users.

ABC News still holds its readers longer. Its audience spent an average of 39 minutes per person on the brand in September, up 6.3% from 37 minutes. news.com.au’s average fell 11.5% to 29 minutes, down from 33 minutes in August.

How the rest of the top 10 moved

nine.com.au placed third with 8.74 million users, down 2.9%. 7news.com.au was fourth on 7.30 million, down 7.7%.

The Guardian Australia was one of only three brands in the top 10 to grow, rising 3.4% to 6.96 million. Yahoo (Australia) News also grew 6.2% to 4.47 million, putting it in ninth place.

The Sydney Morning Herald fell 12.5% to 5.34 million, keeping it in sixth place. Daily Mail AUS fell 5.4% to 5.22 million, and bbc.com slipped 2.3% to 4.51 million.

SBS News rounded out the top 10 with 4.26 million users. It recorded the steepest fall in the ranking, down 13.2% from 4.90 million.

AFL drives September news consumption

According to Ipsos, 20.2 million Australians used a news website or app in September. That is 95% of Australians aged 18 and over who use the internet. On average, they spent 3.19 hours reading news online during the month.

Ipsos said the AFL was the nation’s biggest content driver. Coverage focused on the finals series, the Brisbane Lions’ premiership win, and Lachie Neale’s successful challenge to a one-match ban ahead of the grand final.

A shark attack at Sorrento Beach in Perth was one of the month’s biggest breaking news stories, according to the report. Other stories that drew large audiences were the NRL finals series, Penrith Panthers co-captain Nathan Cleary’s injury, the Dally M awards, and the death of former Bondi Rescue lifeguard Matt Dee.

Internationally, Ipsos said football (soccer) dominated sports consumption. Readers also went to coverage of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s move to the UK, and the death of Presley Gerber.

Events and attractions audiences grow

The events and attractions category grew 2.3% month-on-month, from 12.4 million users in August to 12.7 million in September. Ipsos said this growth came despite cost-of-living pressures and recent interest rate rises.

Ticketek led the category with 3.63 million users, up 6.6%. Eventbrite was second on 2.76 million, up 3.1%, and Hoyts third on 2.23 million, up 5.3%.

Ticketmaster grew 22.2% to 1.95 million. Ipsos said events such as Dom Dolla’s homecoming show and the first NFL regular-season game held in Australia drove the growth.

Axs posted the biggest rise in the category. It rose 86.1%, from 415,000 to 772,000. Live Nation grew 3.4% to 780,000, which Ipsos attributed to ticket releases for Australian tours by Bruno Mars, Calvin Harris, Suki Waterhouse, and The Strokes.

Cinema chains had mixed results. Village Cinemas grew 9.7% to 738,000, and Ipsos credited new releases including Heart of the Beast, the new Resident Evil film, and Practical Magic 2. Event Cinemas fell 16.1% to 1.77 million.

Ipsos said people aged 18 to 24 were the most likely age group to use events and attractions sites in September. Women were more likely to engage than men, at 67% compared with 55%.

Time spent online rises

In September, 21.2 million Australians aged 18 and over used the internet across all categories. They spent an average of 5.23 hours online each day, up from 5.14 hours in August.

The most-used categories 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).