IIRC, they had a similar scheme under the old Fairfax regions years ago. I know they had discounted individual subscriptions.
Maybe bring those back instead, partner it up with Stan basic.
The Sydney Morning Herald dominates to remain Australia’s No.1 most read cross-platform masthead
The Sydney Morning Herald has once again cemented its position as Australia’s most read cross-platform masthead, with a readership of 6.9 million, according to the Total News Publishing figures released by Roy Morgan today.
As the breadth of the Herald’s journalism – from its investigations, daily news and premium lifestyle coverage – attracted readers and helped drive the masthead’s subscriber strategy, the latest figures for the 12-month period ending December 2024 show that one in three Australians chose the Herald to stay informed.
The masthead dominates the cross-platform landscape with 6.857 million readers compared to The Daily Telegraph readership of 3.978 million.
The Monday to Friday print edition recorded an average issue readership of 374,000, while Saturday’s print edition recorded 479,000 readers. In the last four weeks, 1.35 million people on average have read a print edition of the Herald, while The Sun Herald print edition is read by 371,000 people every Sunday.
Across the Herald and The Age, readers turn to these mastheads for premium lifestyle coverage, with the lifestyle/culture section recording a cross-platform readership of 2.3 million.
The country’s most prestigious food news brand, Good Food, recorded a Total News readership of 1.59 million. The subscription-based Good Food app – available as part of Nine’s premium digital packages – launched late last year and is part of the subscriber strategy.
Meanwhile, Traveller recorded quarterly growth of 2% with 1.67 million readers.
Good Weekend recorded an average issue print readership of 657,000, while Sunday Life recorded an average issue print readership of 348,000 and Domain recorded readership of 457,000.
Executive editor Luke McIlveen said: “The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age are the nation’s most-read mastheads because we have the best reporters and writers in the business. With a fiercely contested federal election on the horizon, our millions of readers know they can depend on our newsrooms to deliver the most accurate, insightful, up to date and balanced news across all platforms.”
Nine’s Total Publishing assets reach a de-duplicated audience of 15.877 million* Australians across print and digital.
The Total News Publishing readership figures are produced by Roy Morgan for ThinkNewsBrands.
The Age maintains its lead against its competitor nationally
The Age has once again maintained its lead against its main competitor nationally, with a cross-platform readership of 4.56 million, according to Total News Publishing figures released by Roy Morgan today.
The Age has cemented its place as the nation’s second most read cross-platform masthead after The Sydney Morning Herald and is ahead of its main competitor The Herald Sun by 328,000 readers.
As The Age’s investigative journalism, daily news and premium lifestyle coverage helped drive the masthead’s subscriber strategy, the latest figures for the 12-month period ending December 2024 show that one in five Australians chose The Age to stay informed.
The Monday to Friday print edition recorded an average issue readership of 252,000 – up 3% compared to last quarter – while Saturday’s print edition recorded 381,000 readers.
Across The Age and the Herald, readers turn to these mastheads for premium lifestyle coverage, with the lifestyle/culture section recording a cross-platform readership of 2.3 million.
The country’s most prestigious food news brand, Good Food, recorded a Total News readership of 1.59 million. The subscription-based Good Food app – available as part of Nine’s premium digital packages – launched late last year and is part of the subscriber strategy.
Meanwhile, Traveller recorded quarterly growth of 2% with 1.67 million readers.
Good Weekend recorded an average issue print readership of 657,000, while Sunday Life recorded an average issue print readership of 348,000 and Domain recorded readership of 457,000.
“That our audience remains so strong is a testament to the excellent work of our reporting teams, who continue to break news that leads the national agenda and tell exclusive Victorian stories worth paying for,” said The Age editor Patrick Elligett.
Nine’s Total Publishing assets reach a de-duplicated audience of 15.877 million* Australians across print and digital.
The Total News Publishing readership figures are produced by Roy Morgan for ThinkNewsBrands.
The Financial Review remains Australia’s most read premium business title
The Australian Financial Review is the country’s most read premium business masthead recording a cross platform readership of 3.43 million people, according to Total News Publishing readership figures released by Roy Morgan today.
The Total News audience of the Financial Review continues to close the gap on its direct competitor The Australian, narrowing to 597,000 down from 604,000 a year ago.
Highlighting the strength of the Financial Review’s digital subscription offering, 79% of AFR readers engage with the masthead’s online publication. The masthead recorded a print readership of 903,000 during the last four weeks, while the Monday to Friday print edition recorded an average issue readership of 259,000.
The AFR Weekend Saturday edition had a 5% quarterly increase with a print readership of 184,000.
The Australian Financial Review Magazine continues to dominate Australia’s monthly magazine insert figures, with a print readership of 484,000. Fin! Magazine has also seen quarterly and annual growth (4% and 9% respectively) and closing in on Wish.
Nine’s Total Publishing assets reach a de-duplicated audience of 15.877 million* Australians across print and digital.
The Total News Publishing readership figures are produced by Roy Morgan for ThinkNewsBrands.
*Source: Roy Morgan Research, All People 14+ for the 12 months ending December 2024. All audience data is based on the last 4 weeks averaged over the 12 months to December 2024. This figure includes: nine.com.au, SMH Print & Digital, The Age Print & Digital, AFR Print & Digital, Brisbane Times, WA Today, Domain Digital, Good Weekend VIC & NSW, Sunday Life VIC & NSW, Domain NIM VIC & NSW, AFR Magazine, Fin! Print Platforms include: SMH Print, The Age Print, AFR Print, Good Weekend VIC & NSW, Sunday Life VIC & NSW, Domain NIM VIC & NSW, AFR Magazine, Fin!
Capital Brief nabs AFR’s legal journo, continues team expansion
Michael Pelly joins Capital Brief from the AFR, where he was legal editor. He has also worked at The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, and the Australian Law Journal.
According to his LinkedIn page, Pelly has a law degree and was admitted to the NSW Supreme Court as a solicitor in 1993.
“We have been made aware by a security researcher that certain personal information held by a third-party supplier was not protected to the level of Nine’s strict internal data protocols after an unauthorised change,” the spokesperson said.
The exposed data was first discovered by security researcher Kaspar, who goes by @bucketchallenge@infosec.exchange on Mastodon. His hobby is looking for data hosted on Amazon cloud storage that has accidentally been left exposed (a problem known as “open S3 buckets”).
Kaspar posted on Mastodon that he had contacted Nine, along with Australian cybersecurity group AUSCERT and the Australian privacy commissioner, to inform them about the exposed data on March 19.
It was only after Crikey contacted Nine on March 26 that the exposed data was secured.
According to The Age live news blog:
Nine has contacted all impacted customers to advise them of the breach, but is not advising any specific action at this time.
It said it was continuing to review its third-party suppliers.
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Tonight’s Media Watch on the ABC revealed that an AI-generated image was used for the cover of Traveller liftout in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald on May 3.
Nine launches tasty new brand campaign putting Good Food at the centre of culinary memories
A major campaign launched for iconic food brand, Good Food, will celebrate Australia’s passion for creating culinary memories and reinforce the benefit of having its expertise “in your back pocket”, Nine reveals today.
The campaign, running until June 15, positions Good Food as the essential companion for discovering and elevating every food moment, and will run across out-of-home, broadcast including BVOD, cinema, press, audio streaming and all social media platforms.
The campaign’s core message, “We know Good Food. You can too,” is brought to life through a TVC using groundbreaking Volumetric Photography. This technology, featuring a Light Field Camera Array, captures unique moments with detail, offering viewers an engaging experience.
The campaign targets food lovers aged 25-54 across Sydney and Melbourne, existing Good Food readers and Good Food Guide users, and the food industry.
“This campaign celebrates Australians’ passion for food and showcases Good Food as the essential companion for every food lover. The new Good Food app puts that unmatched culinary intel at your fingertips,” says Vera Straubinger, Head of Brand & Acquisition, Nine.
Good Food will host interactive brand activations on Enmore Road, Newtown (Sydney) and Fitzroy Street, St Kilda (Melbourne) from May 19th, offering food lovers a chance to experience the benefit of having Good Food “in your back pocket,” with access to delicious recipes and restaurant recommendations, providing inspiration and solutions to the perennial question – “What’s for dinner?”
With commuters and foot traffic able to access a curated selection of Good Food recipes by pressing a button that will feature on the digital billboard, the interactive site creatively brings the brand alive.
The campaign comes off the back of the Good Food app launch last November, which has been well-received, growing quickly in popularity to be the No.1 food-based magazine in the App Store. The subscriber-based digital offering brings together recipes from Australia’s most-loved chefs and cooks, expert reviews, and exceptional food content, alongside the digitised Good Food Guide.
“There is nothing on the market like the Good Food app. While there are cooking apps, and apps that help you discover restaurants, none combine the two. The food space is cluttered, but this app helps cut through the noise with local expertise, reliability and daily cooking inspiration,” says Sarah Norris, Head of Good Food.
“With money tighter than ever, having guidance on what’s worth your dollars in a sea of dining and cooking options, and being able to trust those recommendations, makes the Good Food app very handy.”
The campaign celebrates the joy of everyday food moments and features real families, couples and friends. Director Olivia Altavilla said, “Working with our multi camera array not only makes the food look amazing, but also allows us to tell a truly intimate story with every little imperfection and detail. Let’s eat!”.
Explaining how the use of Volumetric Photography adds to the creative, Ryan Petie, Executive Creative Director, Publicis Worldwide Australia, said, “In the absence of someone inventing Taste-O-Vision, this was the most immersive way we could bring Good Food’s passion and expertise around food to our viewers”.
CAMPAIGN CREDITS – NINE ENTERTAINMENT “We Know Good Food”
Nine
Director, Audience Growth: Aimie Rigas
Head of Brand & Acquisition: Vera Straubinger
Marketing Lead, Brand & Acquisition – Metros: Kymberley Joseph
Marketing Manager, Brand & Acquisition – Metros: Annabel Nicholas
In House Design: Hannah EldridgeAgency: Publicis Worldwide Australia
Managing Director: Simone Waugh
Executive Creative Director: Ryan Petie
Strategy Director: Swati Shivshankar
Creative Director: Lee Griffin
Creative: Josh Gilsenan
Executive Production Director: Vicki Lee
General Manager/Chief Client Partner: Jude Johannesen
Senior Account Director: Mary Graham
Account Executive: Matisse Sipa BorgeaudProduction Company: The Producers
Executive Producer: Noelle Jones
Director: Olivia Altavilla
Producer: Simone Mackie
Producer: Georgia RankinMedia Partner: PHD
Group Business Director: Ali Jones
Business Director: Emily Friedlos
Senior Planning Manager: Patrese Beasley
Senior Investment Manager: Caitlin Ferguson-Evans
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age team up with acclaimed sports news site The Athletic by The New York Times to offer an unrivaled subscriber bundle
Premium subscribers of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age will have complimentary access to one of the world’s most revered digital sports news sites, The Athletic, in a new bundling deal announced by Nine today.
The Athletic, part of The New York Times, is staffed by some of the world’s most experienced sports journalists, with coverage of some of the globe’s most popular sporting franchises that are growing in popularity with Australian audiences. They include the NBA, English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Formula 1 and the NFL.
Premium subscribers of the Herald and The Age will have one year’s unlimited access to the Athletic’s in-depth coverage, with exclusive reporting, up-to-the-minute news, scores, expert analysis and real-time insights so readers can experience the thrill of the game as it unfolds.
This benefit further enhances the premium subscriber experience, with a recent re-launch of the mastheads’ puzzles offering and the launch of the Good Food app.
Coming into effect from today, the bundle is an Australian first for a local masthead and further strengthens Nine Publishing’s audience growth strategy.
Executive Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Luke McIlveen, said: “We are thrilled to give our Herald and Age subscribers access to the world’s best standalone sports site. The surge in popularity of US sports in Australia makes The Athletic the perfect offering for readers who value quality, trusted journalism.”
Nine’s Director of Audience Growth, Aimie Rigas, said: “Our subscribers are passionate about quality journalism, and sport is no exception – so this one’s for them. From the NBA to the Premier League, we know there’s huge interest in global sport coverage, and The Athletic delivers the kind of sharp, in-depth coverage our subscribers can’t get enough of. It’s the perfect match for our own local sports expertise and a great new perk for our premium subscribers.”
For what they are changing, it should be for more than one year.
Still not going to prevent me from cancelling. I get access through the State Library, screw you Nine.
David Crowe, the outgoing chief political correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age, was farewelled at the National Press Club on Wednesday evening before heading off to London as Europe correspondent.
Crowe has been replaced as chief political correspondent by Paul Sakkal, who was described internally by the executive editor of Nine’s metro mastheads, Luke McIlveen, as “one of the best news breakers in the gallery”, which he joined in early 2023.
Natassia Chrysanthos, who McIlveen said had a “forensic eye for detail”, has been appointed federal political correspondent.
It’s been a rapid rise for the two reporters, both 29, who began as trainees in 2018.
A senior Nine political journalist was signed in by the Greens as one of the party’s scrutineers to gain entry to a counting centre in the tightest seat in the federal election, Sky News can reveal
The Australian Financial Review’s NSW political correspondent Paul Karp was signed in by a NSW Greens member to the Asquith centre, on Sydney’s north - where the Bradfield vote is being counted – last week in a plan that is understood to have been pre-approved by Nine management.
The controversy comes as a full recount began this week in the fiercest contest this election, as Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian pulled ahead of Climate-200 backed independent Nicolette Boele by just eight votes at the end of the final distribution of preferences.
A photograph obtained by Sky News shows Mr Karp was signed in to the centre by the far-left party on May 22 at 9.15am.
Two witnesses reported that they did not see Mr Karp scrutineering, but instead he appeared to be listening in to conversations.
It is understood a NSW Greens member appointed Mr Karp as a Greens scrutineer for media purposes and the plan had been pre-approved by Mr Karp’s managers at Nine.
Brisbane Times editor quits for role outside journalism
Brisbane Times editor Sean Parnell is stepping down after more than three years in the job.
Parnell, who worked at The Australian’s Queensland bureau for years before taking on the role with Nine’s digital-only masthead in 2021, said in an email to subscribers that he was moving away from news.
Popular Perth weekly paper The Post unveiled its new printing press on Friday, May 23. SMH reported that the AFR is considering bringing the printed edition back to the state via the Post press, and will run the numbers to see if they stack up.
The Australian reports Michael Stutchbury has left the AFR after more than a decade at the helm and a year as editor-at-large. He’s headed to the Centre for Independent Studies, where he’ll swap headlines for think tank strategy.
BRISBANE TIMES ANNOUNCES KEY LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENTS
Brisbane Times has appointed Rosanna Ryan as Editor and James Hall as News Director of the masthead, reinforcing its position as a powerful, independent media voice for Queensland.
Rosanna Ryan becomes Editor on Monday (June 9), reporting to Executive Editor Luke McIlveen.
Since joining Brisbane Times as Digital Editor in 2023, Ryan has provided instrumental leadership. Notably, her direction of the coverage of Brisbane’s development ahead of the 2032 Olympics has contributed to substantial subscriber growth.
Her management during Cyclone Alfred demonstrated her composed approach to newsroom leadership, highlighting an ability to steer the Brisbane Times ship.
James Hall will commence in the new position of News Director at Brisbane Times on July 1.
Hall joins from The Australian Financial Review, where he was the Queensland Correspondent, after being the state political reporter at The Courier Mail.
His extensive experience includes coverage of multiple state and federal elections and budgets in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. Hall has a distinguished record of breaking significant stories pertaining to housing, finance and energy policies.
In his capacity as News Director, Hall will lead the Brisbane Times news reporting team, directing the daily news agenda while continuing to report on critical issues impacting the state.
They’re cross examining the actual mushroom now! pic.twitter.com/lrwlss3Y5E
— Andrew Hansen (@andrewjhansen) June 2, 2025
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Nine Publishing hikes digital subscription prices by 20%
Nine Publishing has increased the price of its digital subscriptions for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times, and WA Today. It is the second year in a row it has hiked prices at the end of June.
A digital subscription for any of the four mastheads has now risen from $21.49 a month, to $25.99 – a 21% hike.
For $37.49 a month (an extra $11.50) subscribers of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age can also leap to ‘premium’ and get access to the recently launched Good Food app, a suite of puzzle games, and popular US sports news site The Athletic, part of the New York Times stable.
And it’s good bye from me.
Not worth it.