Sport dominates online as 14 million Australians visit sports sites during AFL and NRL finals – Ipsos iris September data

More than six in 10 Australians, or 14.06 million people aged 14+, visited a sports website or app in September as cliff hanger AFL, NRL and NRLW finals gripped a nation of sports fanatics, according to new Ipsos iris data released today.

Australian sports fans spent 54 minutes in September consuming sports content online. While both men and women enjoy reading about sport online, men spend more than five times the amount of time than women, at 89 minutes versus 17 minutes respectively.

The over 40s spent 2.4 times more time consuming sports content online than those under 40, while the over 40s are also significantly more likely to consume sports content online at 72% versus 52% of those aged under 40.

The chart above shows the Sports brands’ ranking during September 2025 by online audience size.

Online news content consumption rises +2.8% in September
The number of people using a news website or app in September rose by +2.8% year on year to 21.3 million, reaching 96.4% of online Australians aged 14+.

We spent 4.56 hours last month consuming news content online, which is on par with the corresponding period last year.

News websites and apps consumption was driven by major sports news events, such as the AFL Brownlow Medal, the Brisbane vs. Geelong Grand Final and off-season trades. There was intense interest in Brownlow red carpet fashion and the live vote, and lead up to the NRL Grand Final.

In addition, the shock split between Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban after 19 years of marriage, the ongoing manhunt for cop killer Dezi Freeman, the fatal shark attack at Sydney’s Long Reef Beach and the sentencing of Erin Patterson for the “mushroom murders” drove interest in news online, plus contestant dramas in reality shows.

Global news events including the assassination of US political activist Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump’s State Visit to the UK and the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and the Ukraine also garnered online news consumption.

The chart below shows the News brands’ ranking during September 2025 by online audience size.

Career, Games, Health and Homes categories drive audience increases in September
Categories with the highest year-on-year growth in September were Career (up +7.6%), Games (up +5.1%), Health (up +4.4%) and Homes and Property (up +4.3%).

Ipsos iris, Australia’s digital audience measurement currency endorsed by IAB Australia, showed that a total of 22.127 million Australians aged 14+ used the internet in September and spent 4.87 hours per day on average online, which was up 4.9% compared to the same time last year.

The most consumed website and app categories in September were Social Networking (22.07 million), Search Engines (both 22.06 million), Technology (22.03 million), Retail and Commerce (21.9 million) and Entertainment (21.8 million).

Ipsos iris provides accurate data about the 22.127 million Australians aged 14+ who access a wide variety of digital content and services across smartphone, PC/laptop and tablet devices.