More than 2.7 million New Zealanders now read newspapers and magazine audiences are steady at almost 1.7 million
Roy Morgan readership results for New Zealand’s newspapers and magazines for the 12 months to June 2024.
Nearly two-thirds of New Zealanders aged 14+, 2.71 million (63%), now read or access newspapers in an average 7-day period via print or online (website or app) platforms. In addition, 1.68 million New Zealanders aged 14+ (39.1%) read magazines whether in print or online either via the web or an app.
These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan New Zealand Single Source survey of 6,167 New Zealanders aged 14+ over the 12 months to June 2024.
New Zealand Herald is now read by over 1.7 million while The Press is the big improver
New Zealand’s most widely read publication is again the New Zealand Herald with a total cross-platform audience of 1,716,000 in the 12 months to June 2024 – over five times as many as the second placed Dominion Post with a readership of 329,000.
There were three top ten titles to grow their total cross-platform audiences led by the third placed Otago Daily Times, up 3,000 (+1.1%) to an audience of 267,000, The Press, up 14,000 (+5.6%) to an audience of 264,000 and the Sunday Star-Times, up 7,000 (+3.7%) to an audience of 194,000.
Also increasing its audience was the Nelson Mail, up 3,000 (+3.7%) to an audience of 85,000.
Filling out the top ten are the Waikato Times in sixth place with an audience of 176,000 readers, Hawke’s Bay Today on 121,000, Bay of Plenty Times on 120,000, Taranaki Daily News on 118,000 just ahead of the Northern Advocate in tenth place on 116,000.
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) | |||||
| June 2023 | June 2024 | June 2023 | June 2024 | June 2023 | June 2024 | % Change | |
| ‘000s | ‘000s | ‘000s | ‘000s | ‘000s | ‘000s | % | |
| New Zealand Herald | 477 | 446 | 1,535 | 1,507 | 1,747 | 1,716 | -1.8% |
| Dominion Post | 138 | 154 | 275 | 221 | 363 | 329 | -9.4% |
| Otago Daily Times | 84 | 90 | 214 | 215 | 264 | 267 | +1.1% |
| The Press | 130 | 131 | 173 | 189 | 250 | 264 | +5.6% |
| Sunday Star-Times | 138 | 140 | 61 | 64 | 187 | 194 | +3.7% |
| Waikato Times | 77 | 65 | 139 | 124 | 203 | 176 | -13.3% |
| Hawke’s Bay Today | 65 | 44 | 122 | 96 | 171 | 121 | -29.2% |
| Bay of Plenty Times | 56 | 39 | 100 | 92 | 146 | 120 | -17.8% |
| Taranaki Daily News | 37 | 44 | 104 | 97 | 124 | 118 | -4.8% |
| Northern Advocate | 53 | 37 | 113 | 99 | 147 | 116 | -21.1% |
*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.
Over 20 magazines increased their average issue print readership in the year to June 2024
Roy Morgan New Zealand’s latest figures show that 21 of the 49 magazines measured increased their print readership in the year to June 2024 compared to a year earlier.
New Zealand’s most widely read magazine is the driving magazine AA Directions which had an average issue readership of 397,000 during the year to June 2024 – an increase of 59,000 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 219,000, up 11,000 on a year ago.
In third place was Kia Ora (Air New Zealand’s inflight magazine) which increased its print readership by an impressive 28,000 as New Zealanders returned to travel after pandemic-era border restrictions fully ended in October 2022.
Filling out the top five most widely read magazines were NZ Woman’s Day with an average issue print readership of 132,000 just in front of the TV Guide on 127,000.
Three of the other 10 most widely read magazines in New Zealand increased their print readership over the last year led by NZ Gardener, up by 21,000 to 107,000 in sixth place, Fish & Game NZ, up 33,000 to 104,000 and NZ Woman’s Weekly, up 27,000 to 103,000 and in eighth place overall.
Filling out the top 10 most widely read magazines in New Zealand were Habitat with an average issue print readership of 103,000 and the Australian Women’s Weekly (NZ Edition) on 88,000.
Other magazines to grow their readership significantly during the year to June 2024 included Bunnings Magazine, up 16,000 to 59,000, New Idea, up 14,000 to 54,000, Homestyle NZ, up 19,000 to 46,000 and NZ Fishing News, up 12,000 to 26,000.
There were 11 other magazines with increases to their average issue print readership led by NZ House & Garden, up 5,000 to a readership of 87,000, Dish, up 3,000 to 86,000, NZ Life & Leisure, up 7,000 to 71,000, Consumer, up 4,000 to 63,000, North & South, up 8,000 to 60,000, Your Home & Garden, up 6,000 to 49,000, NZ Weddings & Honeymoons, up 7,000 to 31,000, Grapevine, up 5,000 to 28,000, NZ Classic Car, up 9,000 to 21,000, NZ Motorhomes Caravans & Destinations, up 5,000 to 18,000 and The Shed, up 1,000 to 13,000.
New Zealand’s Top 10 Magazines by Average Issue Print Readership
| Publication | June 2023 | June 2024 | % Reach Change |
| ‘000s | ‘000s | % | |
| AA Directions* | 338 | 397 | +1.1% |
| New Zealand Listener* | 208 | 219 | +0.1% |
| KiaOra (Air NZ inflight magazine) | 107 | 135 | +0.5% |
| NZ Woman’s Day* | 145 | 132 | -0.4% |
| TV Guide* | 152 | 127 | -0.7% |
| NZ Gardener* | 86 | 107 | +0.4% |
| Fish & Game NZ* | 71 | 104 | +0.7% |
| NZ Woman’s Weekly | 76 | 103 | +0.6% |
| Habitat* | 108 | 103 | -0.2% |
| Australian Women’s Weekly (NZ Edition)* | 127 | 88 | -0.9% |
*Roy Morgan has measured additional readership for this magazine via Cross-Platform Audiences – see next section.
A majority of magazines measured grow their total cross-platform audiences in 2024 led by AA Directions, New Zealand Listener, NZ Gardener and NZ Woman’s Weekly
Roy Morgan’s latest total cross-platform audience figures for 19 leading magazines show that 10/19 (53%) magazines tracked grew their audiences during 2024 – including seven of the top 10 (70%).
AA Directions is still easily New Zealand’s most widely read magazine with a market-leading total cross-platform audience of 472,000 – up by an exceptional 54,000 (+12.9%) 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 6,000 (+2.4%) to 251,000 ahead of the third most widely read NZ Women’s Day with a total cross-platform audience of 182,000.
There were also impressive increases for NZ Gardener up by 29,000 (+22.3%) to an audience of 159,000, NZ Woman’s Weekly up by 13,000 (+9.3%) to 153,000, NZ House & Garden, up by 12,000 (+8.8%) to 148,000, Fish & Game NZ, up 11,000 (+8.1%) to 147,000 and Mindfood, up 9,000 (+6.8%) to 141,000.
The were several other magazines to increase their total cross-platform audiences including North & South, up 8,000 (+6.7%) to 128,000, Property Press, up 4,000 (+4.9%) to 85,000 and New Idea, up 17,000 (+27.9%) to 78,000.
Top 10 Magazines – Total Cross-Platform Audience (Print & Online)
| Publication | Digital (web or app) | Total Cross-Platform Audience* (print, web or app) | |||||
| June 2023 | June 2024 | June 2023 | June 2024 | June 2023 | June 2024 | % Change | |
| ‘000 | ‘000s | ‘000s | ‘000s | ‘000s | ‘000s | % | |
| AA Directions | 338 | 397 | 161 | 187 | 418 | 472 | +12.9% |
| New Zealand Listener | 208 | 219 | 68 | 66 | 245 | 251 | +2.4% |
| NZ Woman’s Day/ Now to Love | 145 | 132 | 72 | 72 | 196 | 182 | -7.1% |
| NZ Gardener | 86 | 107 | 60 | 70 | 130 | 159 | +22.3% |
| Dish | 83 | 86 | 111 | 93 | 158 | 154 | -2.5% |
| NZ Woman’s Weekly/ Now to Love | 76 | 103 | 72 | 72 | 140 | 153 | +9.3% |
| NZ House & Garden | 82 | 87 | 66 | 75 | 136 | 148 | +8.8% |
| Fish & Game NZ | 71 | 104 | 80 | 72 | 136 | 147 | +8.1% |
| TV Guide | 152 | 127 | 38 | 41 | 169 | 147 | -13.0% |
| Mindfood | 66 | 66 | 88 | 89 | 132 | 141 | +6.8% |
*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 mid-2024
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 180,000, an increase of 8,000 on a year ago – over 50 per cent higher than any other magazine.
In second place is the widely read Sunday Magazine with a readership of 118,000 just ahead of Viva (North Island) with a readership of 117,000, up 1,000 on a year ago.
There was little difference between the fourth placed Weekend (North Island) with a readership of 101,000 and the fifth placed Your Weekend with a readership of 98,000. In sixth place is Be Well (North Island) with a readership of 71,000.
New Zealand’s Leading Newspaper Inserted Magazines by Print Readership
| Publication | June 2023 | June 2024 | % Reach Change |
| ‘000s | ‘000s | % | |
| Canvas (North Island) | 172 | 180 | +0.1% |
| Sunday Magazine | 137 | 118 | -0.6% |
| Viva (North Island) | 116 | 117 | -0.1% |
| Weekend (North Island) | 110 | 101 | -0.3% |
| Your Weekend | 105 | 98 | -0.2% |
| Be Well (North Island) | 90 | 71 | -0.6% |
Michele Levine, Chief Executive Officer, Roy Morgan, says:
“The latest Roy Morgan readership figures for New Zealand show nearly two-thirds of New Zealanders, 2.71 million (63% 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 329,000.
“Several newspapers have increased their cross-platform audiences over the last year led by the Otago Daily Times (up 1.1% to 267,000), The Press (up 5.6% to 264,000), Sunday Star-Times (up 3.7% to 194,000) and Nelson Mail (up 3.7% to 85,000).
“There is good news for New Zealand’s magazines. Readership of print magazines has held steady at around 1.6 million. In addition, the total cross-platform audience is virtually unchanged at almost 1.7 million New Zealanders (39.1% of the population aged 14+).
“There were several outstanding performers over the last year with readership increases for over 20 magazines. Impressively, readership for six out of the top 10 print magazines increased and the total cross-platform audiences of seven out of the top 10 magazines was up on a year ago.
“The two most widely read magazines increased both their print readership and cross-platform audiences over the last year. AA Directions with a print readership of 397,000 (up 59,000 on a year ago) and a total cross-platform audience of 472,000 (up 54,000) is the most widely read magazine in New Zealand once again. In second spot is New Zealand Listener with a print readership of 219,000 (up 11,000) and a cross-platform audience of 251,000 (up 6,000).
“KiaOra, Air New Zealand’s inflight magazine, increased its print readership by an impressive 28,000 to 135,000 and is now the country’s third most widely read print magazine in 2023-24. The increase in readership compared to a year earlier is boosted by the end of all COVID-19 restrictions late in 2022 after which New Zealanders began to return to travel in big numbers.
“Popular home and gardening magazine NZ Gardener has experienced large increases in both print readership and total cross-platform audience over the last year. The print readership was up 21,000 to 107,000 to be the sixth most widely read print magazine, and its cross-platform audience grew by 22.3% (+29,000) to 159,000 – the fourth largest total cross-platform audience.
“Two other well-known magazines to maintain their leading positions in the overall market include the NZ Woman’s Day with a print readership of 132,000 and a cross-platform audience of 182,000 and NZ Woman’s Weekly with a print readership of 103,000 (up 27,000) and a cross-platform audience of 153,000 (up 13,000).
“Despite the economic challenges faced by many New Zealanders, including the concerns about cost of living due to high inflation, the magazine industry has performed exceptionally with many enjoying increasing print readership and total cross-platform audiences.
“Magazines providing engaging and interesting content for their audiences continue to be a valuable channel for businesses and advertisers looking to reach hard to find 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.
About Roy Morgan
Roy Morgan is Australia’s largest independent Australian research company, with offices in each state, as well as in the U.S. and U.K. A full-service research organisation, Roy Morgan has over 80 years’ experience collecting objective, independent information on consumers.
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 |
