The Nightly news flash! Australia’s new digital-only newspaper more than doubles audience in second month

The Nightly, Australia’s new digital-only newspaper, has exploded onto the national news scene, more than doubling its audience in its second month — adding almost one million readers in April.

Official industry data shows 1.808 million people visited The Nightly last month, a 107 per cent increase since launch, as readers across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane embrace the news website and its digital newspaper.

The Nightly’s digital edition is published at 6pm each weekday and has built a loyal following, capturing a unique perspective on the day’s national and international news.

According to the official Ipsos industry data, over one in four of thenightly.com.au’s audience is under 39 years old, with 54 per cent of readers being women. Another 30 per cent of readers are aged 40 to 54 years old.

The Nightly has quickly established itself as an influential voice on the media landscape, with a team of experienced journalists led by foreign correspondent and veteran editor Sarah Blake and investigative journalists Kristin Shorten and Remy Varga.

In only its second month, The Nightly has already amassed an audience 60 per cent the size of The Australian Financial Review, and more than 50 per cent of The Australian.

The Nightly also draws on household names from the Seven Network, including Mark Riley, Michael Usher, David Koch, Matthew Richardson and Gemma Acton, and features a broad range of agenda setters and opinion writers Kate Emery, Ben Harvey, Andrew Carswell, Jeni O’Dowd and Christopher Dore as well as sports legends Leigh Matthews, Mitchell Johnson, Justin Langer and Georgie Parker. It has also built a suite of news-breaking contributors, such as Latika Bourke and James King.

The Nightly, owned by Seven West Media, also publishes long-form journalism from international powerhouses The New York Times, The Economist and the printed edition of London’s Daily Mail.

Editor Sarah-Jane Tasker declared The Nightly had arrived with immediate impact and the positive feedback from readers was overwhelming.

“The refreshing thing we are seeing in these figures is The Nightly is attracting younger people back to reading the news. They are embracing the old newspaper tradition, only in digital form,” she said.

“The clean, modern design of the site and the ‘digi edition’, coupled with authoritative, entertaining and cut-through voices and en pointe news curation is also winning over an enviably strong female audience desperate for intelligent, relevant and informative news.”

“Our audience is 54 per cent women. And almost two-thirds of our readers are young. That is quite a statement.”

Seven West Media news and current affairs editor-in-chief Anthony de Ceglie, the architect of The Nightly, said the early results were massive, confirming there is a big and growing market for quality journalism, expert analysis and straight-shooting opinion writers.

“This is a brilliant start but it’s only the beginning for The Nightly.”

Seven West Media WA’s Maryna Fewster said The Nightly, published by West Australian Newspapers Ltd, was performing above expectations. “The national audience the team has already built, with Victoria and NSW the number one and number two states for The Nightly, is inspiring, and the impact it’s having on the national debate is great for journalism.”

Source: Ipsos iris Online Audience Measurement Service April and March 2024, Age 14+, PC/Laptop, Smartphone, Tablet, Text Only, News Category, Brand Group, Audience (000s), Audience Reach %.