More than 2.7 million New Zealanders now read newspapers and magazine audiences surge to over 1.7 million
Roy Morgan readership results for New Zealand’s newspapers and magazines for the 12 months to December 2023.
Nearly two-thirds of New Zealanders aged 14+, 2.73 million (64.4%), now read or access newspapers in an average 7-day period via print or online (website or app) platforms. In addition, 1.71 million New Zealanders aged 14+ (40.3%) read magazines whether in print or online either via the web or an app – an impressive increase of 1.3% points on a year ago (+80,000).
These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan New Zealand Single Source survey of 6,254 New Zealanders aged 14+ over the 12 months to December 2023.
New Zealand Herald is now read by over 1.7 million while Sunday News is the big improver
New Zealand’s most widely read publication is again the New Zealand Herald with a total cross-platform audience of 1,720,000 in the 12 months to December 2023 – over five times as many as the second placed Dominion Post with a readership of 341,000.
There were three top ten titles to grow their total cross-platform audiences led by the fifth placed Sunday Star-Times, up 10,000 (+5.4%) to an audience of 195,000, the Bay of Plenty Times, up 6,000 (+4.4%) to an audience of 142,000 and the Taranaki Daily News, up 2,000 (+1.8%) to an audience of 124,000.
Filling out the top five are the Otago Daily Times in third place with an audience of 259,000 readers just ahead of The Press in fourth place on 246,000.
Other newspapers to increase their total cross-platform audiences during 2023 included the Manawatu Standard, up 8,000 (+7.9%) to 109,000, the Sunday News, up 12,000 (+14.5%) to 95,000 and the Nelson Mail, up 10,000 (+13.3%) to 85,000.
Top 10 Newspapers – Total 7 Day Cross-Platform Audience (Print & Online)
| Publication | Digital (web or app) | Total 7 Day Cross-Platform Audience* (print, web or app) | |||||
| Dec 2022 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2023 | % Change | |
| ‘000s | ‘000s | ‘000s | ‘000s | ‘000s | ‘000s | % | |
| New Zealand Herald | 484 | 484 | 1,510 | 1,509 | 1,734 | 1,720 | -0.8% |
| Dominion Post | 141 | 145 | 263 | 248 | 357 | 341 | -4.5% |
| Otago Daily Times | 84 | 85 | 219 | 211 | 267 | 259 | -3.0% |
| The Press | 135 | 119 | 175 | 172 | 253 | 246 | -2.8% |
| Sunday Star-Times | 137 | 151 | 56 | 56 | 185 | 195 | +5.4% |
| Waikato Times | 79 | 67 | 137 | 124 | 197 | 179 | -9.1% |
| Hawke’s Bay Today | 79 | 47 | 103 | 121 | 165 | 149 | -9.7% |
| Bay of Plenty Times | 52 | 58 | 100 | 95 | 136 | 142 | +4.4% |
| Northern Advocate | 60 | 43 | 115 | 97 | 158 | 122 | -22.8% |
| Taranaki Daily News | 31 | 39 | 98 | 94 | 114 | 116 | +1.8% |
*Cross-Platform Audience is the number of New Zealanders who have read or accessed individual newspaper content via print or online. Print is net readership in an average 7 days. Online is net readership online in an average 7 days.
38 magazines increase their print readership in 2023 – nearly 80% of measured magazines
Roy Morgan New Zealand’s latest figures show that 38 of the 48 magazines measured increased their print readership during 2023 - nearly 80% of the magazines covered in this survey.
New Zealand’s most widely read magazine is the driving magazine AA Directions which had an average issue readership of 379,000 during the year to December 2023 – an increase of 63,000 on a year ago.
Another star performer was to increase their readership in the last year was the clearly second-placed New Zealand Listener with an average issue readership of 218,000, up 37,000 on a year ago.
In fourth place was NZ Woman’s Day which increased its print readership by 14,000 to 131,000 just ahead of the fifth-placed KiaOra (Air New Zealand’s inflight magazine) which increased its print readership by an exceptional 50,000 to 125,000 as New Zealanders returned to travel after pandemic-era border restrictions fully ended in October 2022.
The other five most widely read magazines filling out the top 10 magazines in New Zealand all increased their print readership during 2023.
These magazines were led by Australian Women’s Weekly (NZ Edition) up by 10,000 to 120,000 in sixth place, Habitat, which was up 5,000 to 104,000, NZ Gardener, up by 20,000 to 100,000, Dish, following an increase of 23,000 to 95,000 and NZ Woman’s Weekly, up 23,000 to 92,000.
Other magazines to grow their readership impressively during the year to December 2023 Cuisine, up 21,000 to 92,000, Mindfood, up 18,000 to 80,000, Property Press, up 10,000 to 58,000, Bunnings Magazine, up 11,000 to 55,000, Home NZ, up 16,000 to 52,000, National Geographic, up 14,000 to 51,000, Good, up 10,000 to 41,000, Homestyle NZ, up 16,000 to 37,000, Rugby News, up 11,000 to 30,000, NZ Weddings & Honeymoons, up 12,000 to 27,000.
There were 18 other magazines to increase their print readership by from 1,000 to 9,000 in 2023 including Nadia, New Idea, Lucky Break, Better Homes & Gardens, NZ House & Garden, Your Home & Garden, Time, Avenues, Consumer, North & South, Reader’s Digest, Metro, NZ Life & Leisure, Wilderness, The Shed, NZ Outdoor Hunting, NZ Classic Car and NZ Motorhomes Caravans & Destinations.
New Zealand’s Top 10 Magazines by Average Issue Print Readership
| Publication | Dec 2022 | Dec 2023 | % Reach Change |
| ‘000s | ‘000s | % | |
| AA Directions* | 316 | 379 | +1.3% |
| New Zealand Listener* | 181 | 218 | +0.8% |
| TV Guide* | 161 | 138 | -0.5% |
| NZ Woman’s Day* | 117 | 131 | +0.3% |
| KiaOra (Air NZ inflight magazine) | 75 | 125 | +1.1% |
| Australian Women’s Weekly (NZ Edition)* | 110 | 120 | +0.2% |
| Habitat* | 99 | 104 | +0.1% |
| NZ Gardener* | 80 | 100 | +0.5% |
| Dish* | 72 | 95 | +0.5% |
| NZ Woman’s Weekly | 69 | 92 | +0.5% |
*Roy Morgan has measured additional readership for this magazine via Cross-Platform Audiences – see next section.
Over 70% of magazines measured grow their total cross-platform audiences in 2023 led by AA Directions, New Zealand Listener, Dish, NZ Woman’s Day and Australian Women’s Weekly (NZ)
Roy Morgan’s latest total cross-platform audience figures for 19 leading magazines show that 14/19 (74%) magazines tracked grew their audiences during 2023 – including nine of the top 10 (90%).
AA Directions is still easily New Zealand’s most widely read magazine with a market-leading total cross-platform audience of 460,000 – up by an exceptional 55,000 (+13.6%) from a year ago and with a total audience over 200,000 ahead of any other magazine.
The second most widely read magazine is New Zealand Listener which increased its total cross-platform audience by 20,000 (+8.8%) to 246,000 while the third most widely read Dish increase its audience by a stunning 50,000 (+37.3%) to 184,000.
There were also impressive increases for NZ Woman’s Day up by 8,000 (+4.5%) to an audience of 184,000 and Australian Women’s Weekly (NZ Edition) up by 23,000 (+15.3%) to 173,000 in fifth ahead of TV Guide with a total cross-platform audience of 160,000.
The other four magazines filling out the top 10 magazines for total cross-platform audiences also increased their audiences over the last year including Mindfood, up by 26,000 (+19.7%) to 158,000, NZ Gardener, up by 34,000 (+28.1%) to 155,000, NZ Woman’s Weekly, up by 18,000 (+13.3%) to 153,000 and NZ House & Garden, up by 25,000 (+19.8%) to 151,000.
Top 10 Magazines – Total Cross-Platform Audience (Print & Online)
| Publication | Digital (web or app) | Total Cross-Platform Audience* (print, web or app) | |||||
| Dec 2022 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2023 | % Change | |
| ‘000 | ‘000s | ‘000s | ‘000s | ‘000s | ‘000s | % | |
| AA Directions | 316 | 379 | 158 | 180 | 405 | 460 | +13.6% |
| New Zealand Listener | 181 | 218 | 75 | 54 | 226 | 246 | +8.8% |
| Dish | 72 | 95 | 87 | 118 | 134 | 184 | +37.3% |
| NZ Woman’s Day/ Now to Love | 117 | 131 | 77 | 79 | 176 | 184 | +4.5% |
| Australian Women’s Weekly (NZ Edition) | 110 | 120 | 54 | 63 | 150 | 173 | +15.3% |
| TV Guide | 161 | 138 | 56 | 41 | 192 | 160 | -16.7% |
| Mindfood | 62 | 80 | 87 | 100 | 132 | 158 | +19.7% |
| NZ Gardener | 80 | 100 | 54 | 75 | 121 | 155 | +28.1% |
| NZ Woman’s Weekly/ Now to Love | 69 | 92 | 77 | 79 | 135 | 153 | +13.3% |
| NZ House & Garden | 74 | 79 | 67 | 81 | 126 | 151 | +19.8% |
*Cross-platform audience is the number of New Zealanders who have read or accessed individual magazine content via print or online. Print is average issue readership. Digital is average website visitation and app usage (if available) in last 7 days for weekly titles (New Idea, New Zealand Listener, NZ Woman's Day, NZ Woman's Weekly, Property Press, That's Life, Time, TV Guide) and last 4 weeks for all other non-weekly titles.
Canvas is again easily the most widely read Newspaper Inserted Magazine in 2023
The New Zealand Herald’s Canvas (North Island) was clearly the most widely read Newspaper Inserted Magazine over the past year with a readership of 175,000 – over 35 per cent higher than any other magazine.
In a clear second place is the widely read Sunday Magazine with a readership of 129,000.
There was not much to separate the next three magazines – only 11,000 between the third most widely read Weekend (North Island) with a readership of 114,000, Viva (North Island) with a readership of 111,000 and Your Weekend with a readership of 101,000.
New Zealand’s Leading Newspaper Inserted Magazines by Print Readership
| Publication | Dec 2022 | Dec 2023 | % Reach Change |
| ‘000s | ‘000s | % | |
| Canvas (North Island) | 201 | 175 | -0.7% |
| Sunday Magazine | 134 | 129 | -0.2% |
| Weekend (North Island) | 127 | 114 | -0.3% |
| Viva (North Island) | 129 | 111 | -0.5% |
| Your Weekend | 106 | 101 | -0.1% |
Michele Levine, Chief Executive Officer, Roy Morgan, says:
“The latest Roy Morgan readership figures for New Zealand show nearly two-thirds of New Zealanders, 2.73 million (64.4% of the population aged 14+), now read or access newspapers in an average 7-day period via print or online (website or app).
“The leading newspaper is again the New Zealand Herald with a total cross-platform audience of over 1.7 million and is read by over five times as many people as the second placed Dominion Post – read by 341,000.
“Several newspapers have increased their cross-platform audiences over the last year led by the Sunday Star-Times (up 5.4% to 195,000), Bay of Plenty Times (up 4.4% to 412,000), Taranaki Daily News (up 1.8% to 116,000), Manawatu Standard (up 7.9% to 109,000), Sunday News (up 14.5% to 95,000) and Nelson Mail (up 13.3% to 85,000).
“There is further good news for New Zealand’s magazines. Readership of print magazines has increased by 1.8% (+96,000) to over 1.6 million and this has powered an increase in the total cross-platform audience of magazines to over 1.7 million New Zealanders (40.3% of the population aged 14+) that now read magazines whether in print or online either via the web or an app.
“The last year has been an impressive one for New Zealand’s magazine industry with readership increases for nearly 80% of the magazines covered in the survey (38 out of 48) – including nine of the top 10 magazines for both print readership and total cross-platform audiences.
“The two most widely read magazines both increased their print readership and cross-platform audiences during 2023. AA Directions with a print readership of 379,000 (up 63,000 on a year ago) and a total cross-platform audience of 460,000 (up 55,000) is the most widely read magazine in New Zealand once again. In second spot on both rankings is New Zealand Listener with a print readership of 218,000 (up 37,000) and a cross-platform audience of 246,000 (up 20,000).
“KiaOra, Air New Zealand’s inflight magazine, increased its print readership by an impressive 50,000 to 125,000 in 2023 as New Zealanders returned to travel following the end of all COVID-19 restrictions late in 2022. KiaOra is now the country’s fifth most widely read print magazine.
“Popular food and dining magazine Dish had a great year in 2023 and has experienced large increases in both print readership and total cross-platform audience. The print readership for Dish was up 23,000 to 95,000 to be the tenth most widely read print magazine, and its cross-platform audience grew by 37.3% (+50,000) to 184,000 – the third largest total cross-platform audience.
“The other magazines to maintain their leading positions in the overall market include the NZ Woman’s Day with a print readership of 131,000 (up 14,000 on a year ago) and a cross-platform audience of 184,000 (up 8,000) and Australian Women’s Weekly with a print readership of 120,000 (up 10,000) and a cross-platform audience of 173,000 (up 23,000).
“Despite the pressures of high inflation, rising interest rates and concerns about cost of living during 2023 the magazine industry has performed exceptionally well and grown print readership and audiences across the board. Magazines that provide interesting and relevant content for their audiences are a valuable channel for businesses and advertisers looking for a direct line into the hearts and minds of potential customers.”
Related research findings
Download our latest profiles of New Zealanders who read different Newspapers or Magazines.
To learn more about Roy Morgan’s Readership results for New Zealand call +61 (3) 9224 5309 or email askroymorgan@roymorgan.com.
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
