What Herald Sun does

Herald Sun is an Australian daily newspaper published by Nationwide News Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, and headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. The publication serves Victorian and national audiences with breaking news, state and national politics, business and finance, sports (with particularly deep AFL coverage), opinion, lifestyle, entertainment, and community news through the Leader local newspaper network across Victorian regions. Its underlying technology consists of a digital news publishing platform with a content management system, video hosting, podcast infrastructure, and a digital print edition replica system, delivered via the heraldsun.com.au website, mobile applications, and email newsletters.

The business operates a direct-to-consumer model with six distinct revenue streams: recurring digital subscriptions (heraldsun.com.au tiered packages), recurring print home delivery subscriptions (including liftouts such as Body + Soul, Stellar, Escape, and VWeekend), one-time single-copy newsagent sales, display and classified advertising across digital and print, content licensing and syndication across the News Corp Australia network, and affiliate and referral revenue from partners including realestate.com.au, travel partners, and financial services. Adjacent product lines include the multi-code SuperCoach fantasy sports platform (AFL, NRL, BBL, NBL), branded podcasts (Herald Sun Footy, AFL SuperCoach, Browny's Podcast), puzzles, a Schools Hub education vertical, a weather service, and the My Tributes obituary sub-brand. Herald Sun does not publicly disclose financial results and operates within News Corp Australia's broader network of more than 100 Australian mastheads, with cross-promotion, content syndication, and shared technology infrastructure as core distribution mechanics.

Name

Herald Sun

Legal name

Nationwide News Pty Ltd

Website

https://heraldsun.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2026

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Herald Sun is a Melbourne-based Australian daily newspaper and digital news platform owned by News Corp Australia's Nationwide News Pty Ltd, serving Victorian consumers with local news, sports (notably AFL), business, opinion, and lifestyle content via print, web, mobile, and podcasts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

Keywords

• Daily newspaper publishing
• Digital news subscription
• Regional news media
• Sports journalism coverage
• News content production

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: Subscription-based revenue from digital access to heraldsun.com.au, including unlimited article access, exclusive content, and subscriber-only features. Offers both individual digital subscriptions and bundle packages.
2. Print Subscriptions: Home delivery and mail subscriptions for the physical newspaper edition, including liftouts and magazines such as Body + Soul, Stellar, Escape, and VWeekend.
3. Single Copy Sales: Revenue from newsagent and retail point-of-sale single copy purchases of the print edition.
4. Advertising: Display advertising, classifieds, native advertising, and sponsored content across digital and print platforms.
5. Content Licensing: Licensing of content to other News Corp Australia mastheads and third-party platforms, including syndication of stories across the News Network.
6. Affiliates and Partnerships: Referral and affiliate revenue through partner integrations including realestate.com.au, travel partners, and financial services partnerships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Herald Sun is an Australian daily newspaper published in print and digital formats by Nationwide News Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia. Headquartered in Melbourne, it delivers Victorian, national and international news, sport (with strong emphasis on AFL), business, lifestyle and entertainment content to consumers via newsstand sales, home delivery, digital subscriptions, mobile apps, podcasts and ancillary online products.

Product overview

Herald Sun is a news media company operating primarily as a digital news platform offering breaking news and in-depth coverage across Victoria and Australia. The core offering consists of the Herald Sun Website providing news, sport, business, lifestyle, and entertainment content, supported by subscription-based premium access. Related products include Digital Print Editions (Today's Paper) replicating the printed newspaper digitally, the SuperCoach fantasy sports platform, and various content verticals such as Podcasts, Puzzles, Schools Hub, and Weather Service. The company's My Tributes service operates as a separate sub-brand offering obituary and funeral notice services. The portfolio functions as a unified news media ecosystem with both free and subscription-gated content, rather than a modular software platform architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SuperCoach AFL: Fantasy AFL sports game and tipping competition for Australian rules football fans
• SuperCoach NRL
• SuperCoach BBL
• SuperCoach NBL
• My Tributes
• Kids News
• True Crime Australia

Products and services

• Herald Sun Daily Newspaper
• Herald Sun Digital Subscription
• SuperCoach
• My Tributes
• Herald Sun Podcasts
• Today's Paper (Digital Replica)

Quantifiable outcome

• Award-winning journalism recognized at the 2026 Quill Awards with Gold Quill for exclusive IVF reporting

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• realestate.com.auminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIntegration with realestate.com.au for property listings and real estate content within the Herald Sun platform, providing real estate advertising revenue and content partnership.
• News Corp Australia NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of News Corp Australia\'s network of over 100 mastheads including The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail, The Advertiser, The Australian, and news.com.au. Enables content syndication, cross-promotion, and shared technology infrastructure.
• FoxsportsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSports content partnership providing sports coverage and potentially shared sports journalism resources across News Corp Australia properties.
• Kayo SportsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStreaming partnership for sports content distribution, enabling Herald Sun sports coverage to reach Kayo subscribers.
• Simplicity FuneralsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTributes and funeral services partner integrated into the My Tributes platform, providing obituary and death notice services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Crikey: Crikey is a digital-native Australian news and politics outlet that competes with Herald Sun for opinion, investigative, and political commentary readership, particularly among engaged national audiences.

Direct peers

• The Guardian Australia: The Guardian Australia is a digital-first national news outlet competing for the same Australian news and opinion audience, often positioned against News Corp mastheads on politics and trust.
• The Age: The Age is Melbourne's other major daily newspaper, serving the same Melbourne/Victoria market with overlapping news, sport, business, and opinion coverage, making it the most direct competitor to Herald Sun.
• The Australian: The Australian is News Corp's national newspaper and sister masthead within the same owner, sharing technology, syndication, and audience overlap with Herald Sun.
• Sydney Morning Herald: Sydney Morning Herald is a flagship Australian metropolitan daily with a similar multi-platform subscription, advertising, and content syndication model, making it a closely comparable national peer.
• The Daily Telegraph (Sydney): Daily Telegraph is News Corp's Sydney tabloid, the closest functional analogue to Herald Sun in another major metro market with the same format, ownership, and operating model.
• The Courier-Mail: Courier-Mail is News Corp's Brisbane tabloid, operating with the same digital-plus-print subscription, advertising, and SuperCoach-driven sports engagement playbook.
• news.com.au: news.com.au is News Corp Australia's flagship aggregator and competes with Herald Sun for digital audience and advertising, while also serving as a syndication channel for Herald Sun content.

Broad incumbents

• ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): ABC News is Australia's largest public-funded newsroom, competing with Herald Sun across Victorian, national, and investigative journalism but at no direct consumer cost.
• Nine Publishing (Nine Entertainment): Nine Publishing operates major Australian mastheads including Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, sharing subscription, advertising, and sports coverage overlap with Herald Sun.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheHeraldSun
• Facebookfacebook.com/heraldsun
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/herald-sun

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Herald Sun