Digital ad spend in New Zealand reached NZ$1.2 billion in 2023, taking 52% of the total advertising market while traditional media slipped further behind. Search alone accounted for NZ$450 million of ad spend and TV ad clutter averaged 8.2 minutes per hour in prime time, a sharp contrast with where budgets are actually heading. From cinema impressions to radio hours and streaming subscribers, these 2023 media industry metrics map the shift in how Kiwis watch, listen, and buy.
Key Takeaways
- Total advertising expenditure in NZ grew 7.5% to NZ$3.4 billion in 2023
- Traditional media ad revenue (TV, radio, print) totalled NZ$850 million in 2023, down 2% YoY
- Digital platforms captured 68% of retail advertising spend in 2023
- New Zealand's digital news unique monthly visitors totalled 6.5 million in 2023, with Stuff.co.nz at 4.2 million
- Online video consumption averaged 1 hour 45 minutes daily per person in 2023
- YouTube held 45% share of online video viewing time in NZ in 2023
- The New Zealand Herald's daily print circulation fell to 82,000 copies in 2023, down 5% YoY
- Stuff's monthly unique browsers reached 4.2 million in 2023, but print editions dropped to 150,000 weekly
- Local newspaper ad revenue declined by 12% to NZ$25 million in 2022
- Radio New Zealand's audience share for news/talk was 22.1% in the 12+ demographic in 2023
- Commercial radio stations reached 90% of New Zealanders weekly in 2023, with an average listening time of 16.3 hours per week
- The Magic Talk network's breakfast show achieved a 12.5% share in the Auckland market in Q1 2023
- Seven Sharp's weekly reach was 780,000 in 2023
- In 2023, New Zealand's free-to-air television audience reach stood at 78% of the population aged 15+, with TVNZ 1 achieving an average weekly reach of 642,000 viewers
- TVNZ's total video on demand (VOD) viewing hours in Q4 2023 reached 12.5 million, marking a 15% increase from the previous year
In 2023 New Zealand’s advertising shifted further online, reaching NZ$1.2 billion and outpacing traditional media.
Related reading
01 · Category
Advertising and Revenue21 stats
01
Total advertising expenditure in NZ grew 7.5% to NZ$3.4 billion in 2023
02
Traditional media ad revenue (TV, radio, print) totalled NZ$850 million in 2023, down 2% YoY
03
Digital platforms captured 68% of retail advertising spend in 2023
04
Out-of-home (OOH) advertising revenue increased 12% to NZ$120 million in 2023
05
Programmatic advertising accounted for 45% of digital display ad buys in NZ in 2023
06
Cinema advertising impressions reached 85 million in 2023, with 15% growth post-COVID
07
Sponsorship deals in media totalled NZ$250 million in 2023, led by sports broadcasting
08
Local TV production spend by advertisers was NZ$60 million for branded content in 2023
09
Radio ad revenue per listener hour was NZ$0.045in 2023
10
Print media classified ads declined 22% to NZ$40 million in 2023
11
TV ad clutter averaged 8.2 minutes per hour in prime time 2023
12
Search ad spend NZ$450 million, 38% of digital total 2023
13
TV ad spend NZ$420 million in 2023
14
Native advertising revenue NZ$80 million across media 2023
15
Influencer marketing spend NZ$35 million 2023
16
Retail media networks ad revenue NZ$150 million 2023
17
Direct mail ad spend steady at NZ$90 million 2023
18
Gaming ad impressions 1.2 billion in NZ 2023
19
Print display ads NZ$120 million revenue 2023
20
CTV advertising grew 25% to NZ$50 million 2023
21
NZME total revenue NZ$420 million, 60% from advertising 2023
Interpretation
Advertising and Revenue Interpretation
While digital giants continue to swallow the lion's share of the NZ advertising pie, traditional media are stubbornly refusing to become museum pieces just yet, with out-of-home flexing its new muscles, cinema luring eyes back to the big screen, and brands finding fresh ways to whisper in our ears through sponsorships and branded content, proving the old ad game is simply evolving, not dying.
02 · Category
Digital Media22 stats
01
New Zealand's digital news unique monthly visitors totalled 6.5 million in 2023, with Stuff.co.nz at 4.2 million
02
Online video consumption averaged 1 hour 45 minutes daily per person in 2023
03
YouTube held 45% share of online video viewing time in NZ in 2023
04
News website engagement time averaged 4:32 minutes per session in Q4 2023
05
Social media news consumption reached 62% of adults in 2023, led by Facebook at 48%
06
NZ On Air funded 1,200 digital content hours for video platforms in 2023
07
Streaming services like Netflix had 1.7 million subscribers in NZ by end-2023
08
Podcast downloads totalled 150 million annually in 2023, with local content at 28%
09
Mobile news app usage grew 18% to 2.3 million monthly active users in 2023
10
Online news revenue from subscriptions hit NZ$45 million in 2023
11
55% of digital media time spent on mobiles in 2023
12
Total digital ad spend reached NZ$1.2 billion in 2023, 52% of total advertising market
13
1News.co.nz monthly uniques 3.1 million 2023
14
RNZ.co.nz video views 25 million annually 2023
15
Spinoff.co.nz grew subscribers to 15,000 paid in 2023
16
Facebook video views for NZ news pages 2.5 billion 2023
17
TikTok news consumption 28% among under-25s 2023
18
Local video platforms like Voxy.co.nz 500,000 monthly visits 2023
19
Email newsletters from media outlets reached 3 million subscribers 2023
20
AMPD data showed 72% news referral from Google 2023
21
Online audio streams total 300 million hours 2023
22
Instagram Reels engagement for NZ media up 35% 2023
Interpretation
Digital Media Interpretation
New Zealanders are glued to their screens for a dizzying array of news and video, proving our national attention span is both a fleeting 4.5 minutes on a website and a committed 1.75 hours on YouTube, all while our loyalty is divided between paying for a few subscriptions, scrolling through endless social feeds, and hoping that somewhere in that digital deluge the local story still finds a way through.
03 · Category
Newspapers and Print19 stats
01
The New Zealand Herald's daily print circulation fell to 82,000 copies in 2023, down 5% YoY
02
Stuff's monthly unique browsers reached 4.2 million in 2023, but print editions dropped to 150,000 weekly
03
Local newspaper ad revenue declined by 12% to NZ$25 million in 2022
04
The Press (Christchurch) maintained a paid digital subscription base of 45,000 in mid-2023
05
Magazine circulation totalled 1.2 million monthly across 120 titles in 2023, led by NZ Woman's Weekly at 28,000
06
42% of New Zealanders read a print newspaper weekly in 2023, down from 55% in 2018
07
The Otago Daily Times print run averaged 28,500 copies daily in 2023
08
Digital replicas of newspapers accounted for 18% of total readership in 2023
09
Community newspaper distribution reached 2.8 million households weekly in 2023
10
Book publishing industry produced 1,800 new titles in 2022, with sales revenue of NZ$320 million
11
Herald on Sunday circulation 65,000 in 2023
12
Dominion Post print readers 35,000 daily 2023
13
Rural News magazine subscribers 12,500 in 2023
14
Total newspaper titles in NZ: 120 daily/weekly in 2023
15
Northland Age circulation 4,200 weekly 2023
16
E-paper readership grew 25% to 200,000 users 2023
17
Consumer magazine ad revenue NZ$55 million 2023
18
Waikato Times digital subs 18,000 in 2023
19
Print media employment 2,800 full-time in 2023, down 10%
Interpretation
Newspapers and Print Interpretation
While New Zealand's media industry is stubbornly clinging to print like a well-read but tattered paperback, the readers themselves are increasingly scrolling away, leaving a trail of declining revenue and employment in their wake as the digital future arrives—whether we're ready to turn the page or not.
More related reading
04 · Category
Radio19 stats
01
Radio New Zealand's audience share for news/talk was 22.1% in the 12+ demographic in 2023
02
Commercial radio stations reached 90% of New Zealanders weekly in 2023, with an average listening time of 16.3 hours per week
03
The Magic Talk network's breakfast show achieved a 12.5% share in the Auckland market in Q1 2023
04
New Zealand's total radio advertising revenue was NZ$180 million in 2022, representing 8% of total ad spend
05
25-39 year olds listen to radio for an average of 11.2 hours per week, preferring music stations at 68% share
06
RNZ Concert platform streamed 4.2 million hours of classical music in 2023, up 20% from 2022
07
The Newstalk ZB network's cumulative audience reached 1.1 million listeners aged 10+ weekly in 2023
08
Digital audio consumption via radio apps grew to 2.5 hours per week per listener in 2023
09
Regional radio stations accounted for 15% of total radio listenership, with highest in Southland at 22%
10
Podcast listening among radio audiences averaged 4.1 hours weekly, overlapping with 55% of AM drive listeners
11
The Edge FM's breakfast show had 18% share in 18-39s in Auckland 2023
12
Total radio stations operating in NZ: 240 commercial, 50 community in 2023
13
ZM network's music station share was 15.4% nationally in 2023
14
Student radio (RadioOne) reached 50,000 weekly in Dunedin 2023
15
AM radio listenership was 8% of total in 2023, mostly news/talk
16
Bay of Plenty's highest radio station was The Sound at 14.2% share 2023
17
Radio streaming via TuneIn averaged 1.2 million sessions monthly 2023
18
Women's radio listenership 10+ was 92% weekly reach 2023
19
RNZ National's drive show peaked at 280,000 listeners 2023
Interpretation
Radio Interpretation
Amidst the cacophony of modern media, New Zealand radio is still the quiet hum in the background of our national life, with RNZ's authoritative voice cutting through for one in five of us, the commercial giants uniting nine in ten of us each week, and even our phone-addicted youth secretly clocking 11 hours of their own curated stations, proving the medium is far from a fading signal but rather a resilient and deeply personal soundtrack to our daily commutes, kitchen conversations, and collective consciousness.
05 · Category
Radio; no, Television; wait1 stats
01
Seven Sharp's weekly reach was 780,000 in 2023
Interpretation
Radio; no, Television; wait Interpretation
While Seven Sharp can still gather a crowd bigger than most of our towns, its weekly audience is now a number that feels less like a national watercooler moment and more like a very popular local pub.
06 · Category
Television18 stats
01
In 2023, New Zealand's free-to-air television audience reach stood at 78% of the population aged 15+, with TVNZ 1 achieving an average weekly reach of 642,000 viewers
02
TVNZ's total video on demand (VOD) viewing hours in Q4 2023 reached 12.5 million, marking a 15% increase from the previous year
03
The share of linear TV viewing among 25-39 year olds dropped to 22% in 2023, down from 28% in 2021
04
Prime Television's audience share for news programming averaged 18.4% in prime time slots during 2023
05
New Zealand's total television advertising revenue grew by 4.2% to NZ$450 million in 2022
06
65% of Kiwis watched live sports on free-to-air TV in 2023, with rugby dominating at 52% of sports viewing
07
Māori Television's weekly reach increased to 320,000 viewers in 2023, a 10% YoY growth
08
The average daily TV viewing time per person aged 5+ was 2 hours 45 minutes in 2023
09
ThreeNow app recorded 1.8 million monthly active users in mid-2023
10
Local content hours on TVNZ 1 and 2 totalled 2,800 hours in 2022, complying with 52% local content quota
11
In 2023, TVNZ's revenue from advertising and sponsorship was NZ$320 million, comprising 75% of total revenue
12
Sky Open (formerly Freeview) reached 2.1 million households with 85% penetration in 2023
13
Shortland Street episodes averaged 250,000 viewers per night in 2023
14
NewsHub's 6pm bulletin achieved 12% audience share in 2023
15
Total VOD streams on TVNZ+ hit 500 million in 2023
16
Children 5-14 watched 1.5 hours of TV daily on average in 2023
17
Whakaata Māori's digital views surpassed 10 million in 2023
18
Pay TV subscribers numbered 650,000 in 2023, down 5% YoY
Interpretation
Television Interpretation
Despite holding a commanding 78% reach, New Zealand’s free-to-air broadcasters are learning that their future relies on appeasing a streaming audience with one hand while desperately clutching their live sports and news rugby ball with the other.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Kevin O'Brien. (2026, February 13). New Zealand Media Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/new-zealand-media-industry-statistics
MLA
Kevin O'Brien. "New Zealand Media Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/new-zealand-media-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Kevin O'Brien. 2026. "New Zealand Media Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/new-zealand-media-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
57 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level