Newspaper ad spend rebounds 17.4% after year-long decline
Advertising spend in print newspapers is showing signs of revival, rising 17.4% year-on-year in February, its first return to growth in 12 months, according to new Guideline SMI data.
The analytics company’s monthly round-up revealed media agency spend across newspapers (print and digital) increased 11.2% year-on-year, although only a small portion of that growth is attributed to digital newspaper assets.
The uplift in print was broad-based across states and driven in part by regional titles, with South Australia’s election period also contributing to momentum. However, Mumbrella understands the growth was not isolated to one market, with increases recorded nationally.
It marks the first period of growth since February 2025, when newspaper advertising rose 2.4% ahead of the federal election. However, momentum quickly reversed, with the category returning to decline through the remainder of 2025.
Across all media, spend fell 5.2% year-on-year in February, with digital video recording the strongest growth at 18.9%, while outdoor media edged up 1.8%.
Magazines — particularly digital formats — recorded the steepest decline, down 42.6%. Television fell 7.1%, while audio (radio and digital audio) dropped 10%.
Guideline SMI APAC managing director Jane Ractliffe noted that outdoor continues to gain share from other media, with approximately $4 million in spend shifting from TV to outdoor in the month.
She also said streaming services grew ad spend 60% year-on-year to become the largest category for ad revenue in the month, largely driven by Olympics-related activity. However, she added that “this does follow a trend in that we’ve seen local streamers deliver significant growth in ad revenues to emerge as the largest players so far this calendar year.”
Among major advertiser categories, retail, insurance, automotive and government all posted higher spend, with insurance the standout, up 14.9% year-on-year. The sharpest declines came from restaurants (down 17%) and travel
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