Stuff audiences continue to climb with online and print brands rising again in latest surveys

Stuff Group has seen significant growth in its digital, print and magazine audiences over the past three months, strengthening its lead over competitors as it again takes the number one position in both digital and print. 

New results from Nielsen show that in May, the country’s leading New Zealand website stuff.co.nz attracted 2,328,000* New Zealanders. It is now 574,000 Kiwis ahead of its nearest competitor, an increase of 13,000 on the previous month. Stuff.co.nz has the largest audience in Auckland, Waikato, Wellington and Canterbury, and more people are choosing stuff.co.nz as their primary digital news source.

As Stuff Digital continues to climb, so too do Stuff’s Masthead Publishing subscriber digital and print news brands. The combined digital and print readership of the national The Post, the South Island’s The Press and the Waikato Times has grown 6%** year on year, with more than 1.5 million New Zealanders choosing to get their news from these subscriber brands. Of this number, 848,000 are digital readers with the subscriber digital network up 5%* on the previous month.  

Stuff’s premium magazines also experienced considerable growth over the past quarter - New Zealand House & Garden now has more than 400,000 readers, up 7%** on the previous year. New Zealand Gardener magazine experienced a similar increase, up 8%** year on year to a loyal audience of 264,000 readers.

Stuff Owner and Publisher Sinead Boucher said the separation of the Group’s Stuff Digital and Masthead Publishing businesses two years ago had set each on their own audience, revenue and growth trajectories and today’s results show the benefits of that strategy. 

“Stuff Digital’s singular focus on user experience and relevant content has seen three months of significant growth with more than half a million more Kiwis choosing stuff.co.nz for their news than any other news brand,” she says.

“This has not come at the expense of our masthead brands - their reach is increasing as digital subscriber numbers grow through their focus on quality journalism tailored for each discrete audience. The increasingly national reach of thepost.co.nz with its focus on politics, business and economics is particularly striking - 81% of its readership is now from out of the Wellington region and it grew its combined digital and print audience by 7% over the previous quarter***.

“For our commercial partners, being able to segment and engage specific audiences through our targeted publications is critically important in a constrained economy. In stuff.co.nz, we have  the largest New Zealand website audience which more closely mirrors the demographics of the population than our nearest competitor. 

“Added to this is our recently announced partnership with Trade Me, another great Kiwi brand which is intrinsic to the daily lives of New Zealanders. There are exciting opportunities ahead to explore together as we work through the next stage of this new joint venture.”

[ENDS]

* Nielsen Online Ratings May 25  vs April 25
**CMI Q2 24 - Q1 25 Fused Apr 25 vs CMI Q2 23 - Q1 24 Fused Apr 24

*** CMI Q2 24 - Q1 25 Fused April 25 Vs CMI Q1 24  - Q4 24 Fused Jan 25

About Stuff Group

Stuff connects with around 3.4 million Kiwis every month across its major businesses, delivering quality news, content and experiences that help make Aotearoa a better place. Stuff Digital has unrivalled reach across the nation through number one news website stuff.co.nz. Stuff Masthead Publishing connects with audiences through subscriber-led digital and printed metropolitan, regional and community publications, as well as a range of much-loved consumer magazines. Stuff Brand Connections arms advertisers and partners with a comprehensive range of cross-media advertising and Stuff Events solutions. Find out more at advertise.stuff.co.nz