WORLD PRESS TRENDS - World Association of Newspapers

AUSTRALIA
ADVERTISING EXPENDITURE & ECONOMIC DATA
Main economic indicators 1995-2001
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
1 US$= 1.93 A$ at 2001 rate
Gross Domestic Product (A$ billion)
at current prices 485 517 546 577 608 652 694
% change 4.5 6.7 5.5 5.7 5.4 7.2 6.4
at 2001 prices 557 579 609 638 663 681 694
% change -0.1 4.0 5.2 4.9 3.9 2.6 1.9
Gross Domestic Product per capita (A$ 000)
at current prices 26.8 28.3 29.5 30.8 32.1 34.0 35.6
at 2001 prices 30.8 31.6 32.9 34.1 34.9 35.5 35.6
Population
Millions 18.1 18.3 18.5 18.7 19.0 19.2 19.5
Consumer Price Index
2001=100 87.1 89.4 89.6 90.3 91.7 95.8 100.0
% change 4.6 2.6 0.3 0.8 1.5 4.5 4.4
Ad.spend as a % of GDP
1.22 1.15 1.20 1.22 1.21 1.24 1.08
Advertising Expenditure Growth (%)
at current prices 9.3 0.7 10.3 7.5 4.4 9.3 -7.1
at 2001 prices 4.4 -1.9 10.0 6.7 2.8 4.6 -11.0
Source: IFS, ZenithOptimedia
Advertising expenditure
(A$ million, in current prices)
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Newspapers 2,560 2,481 2,746 3,011 3,074 3,359 3,131 3,162 3,198 3,310 3,403
Magazines 532 574 733 766 796 837 773 781 803 822 841
Television 2,022 2,084 2,248 2,400 2,454 2,746 2,490 2,527
Radio 510 525 540 557 644 684 695 702
Cinema 37 41 47 53 58 69 64 64
Outdoor 254 249 254 274 311 276 271 274
Internet 0 0 0 0 35 83 61 63
Total 5,915 5,954 6,568 7,061 7,372 8,054 7,485 7,573 7,726 8,004 8,227
Source: 1995-2002 Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia, excludes directories
2003-2005 ZenithOptimedia
Notes: Excludes agency commission and production costs, includes classified advertising, after discounts
Research
Circulation is audited by: The Audit Bureau of Circulation
publishes circulation figures four times a year for national,
metropolitan and regional newspapers, and twice a year for
magazines. The Circulation Audit Board (CAB) publishes
circulation figures twice a year for trade and speciality
publications and for suburban newspapers. CAB figures are
released in March and September, each covering six months of
circulation.
Readership is measured by: The readership survey conducted by
Roy Morgan Research is generally accepted as Australia’s
readership currency and comprises approximately 55,000 faceto-face
interviews conducted during 48 weekends of the year.
Newspaper readership is measured using the recent-reading
method. Magazine readership is measured using a combination
of ‘First Time Reading in the Last 7 Days’, ‘Specific Issue: Using
Full Colour Reduced Front Covers’ and ‘Specific Issue: Full
Through-the-Book’ methods. Collectively, this approach is
known as the composite methodology. Further detailed product
and media information is collected via self-completion materials,
in the week following the face-to-face interview, among the same
pool of respondents. Readership figures are a 12-month average
and are released four times a year, based on a rolling 12-month
survey period.
Taxes
VAT on: sales 10% advertising 10%
newsprint 10% composition 10%
plant 10% (standard VAT rate 10%)
A 10% Goods and Services Tax (GST - similar to VAT) was
introduced in July 2000 as part of a major reform of the
Australian taxation system. Apart from GST, there are no special
taxes on advertising or bill posting.
Discounts
There are no special reductions on tariffs, and, except for the
post, all these services are provided by private companies.
on: post 0 rail 0 telephone 0 telegraph 0 telex 0
Ownership
Does any law exist governing publishing-house ownership, or the
registration of shares in newspaper-publishing companies Yes, but
only in respect of:
· foreign ownership; and
· cross-media ownership limitations.
Is there any law prohibiting or restricting foreign companies or
individuals from owning shares, and in particular, the majority of
shares, of domestic daily newspapers Foreign investment in masscirculation
national, metropolitan, suburban and provincial
newspapers is restricted under government policy as well as
under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act.
WORLD ASSOCIATION OF NEWSPAPERS - WORLD PRESS TRENDS 2003 51