Times News Group

What Times News Group does

Times News Group is a privately held Australian regional community newspaper publisher headquartered in Torquay, Victoria, founded in 2019. The group operates 15+ weekly mastheads across regional Victoria (Surf Coast, Bellarine, Ballarat, Geelong, Golden Plains, Bendigo, McIvor, Armstrong Creek, Moorabool), Northern New South Wales (Byron Coast, Tweed Coast, Ballina, Lismore), and South Australia (Mt Gambier), with content spanning news, sport, real estate, and lifestyle sections. Each masthead is distributed free via pickup locations and published as a full digital edition online, with no reader subscription revenue.

The business is built on an advertising-funded model targeting local SMBs (real estate agents, retailers, trades, local services) across its coverage regions, with dedicated "Advertise with us" calls to action on each publication site. Beyond publishing, the group operates Times Footy Scores and Times Footy Teams (digital platforms covering regional Australian Rules football leagues), Coast Print (an in-house printing arm), and TNG Studios (a content and media production service). Distribution combines free physical pickup, full digital editions, and social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube).

The group employs approximately 49 people from a single Torquay HQ and uses a shared-services model to spread editorial, production, and advertising-sales costs across multiple regional brands. No proprietary technology, AI/ML capability, mobile app, or external funding has been disclosed. The company's strategic emphasis has been geographic and product-line expansion (NSW roll-up, SA entry, new mastheads in growth corridors, and TNG Studios) rather than digital subscription or technology-led growth.

Name

Times News Group

Legal name

Times News Group

Website

https://timesnewsgroup.com.au

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Times News Group is an Australian regional community newspaper publisher operating 15+ free weekly mastheads across Victoria, Northern NSW, and South Australia, monetized through local SMB advertising and supported by in-house printing, sports platforms, and a production studio.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Community Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Commercial Printing (2750), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Consumer News & Digital Newsrooms (Web/App-First) (MPAJADAD)

Keywords

• Community newspaper publishing
• Regional news media
• Hyperlocal journalism
• Newspaper advertising
• Free community newspapers

Headquarters

HQ city

Torquay

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advertising: Revenue generated through local business advertising across the group's regional newspaper mastheads, with 'Advertise with us' CTAs present on multiple publication websites.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Times News Group publishes and distributes a portfolio of 16+ free weekly community newspaper mastheads across regional Victoria and northern New South Wales, available in print (via free pickup locations) and digital editions online. The newspapers deliver hyperlocal news, sport, real estate, and community living content for distinct geographic regions, monetized through local business advertising. The group also operates digital sports platforms (Times Footy), a content production studio (TNG Studios), and a printing service (Coast Print).

Product overview

Times News Group is a network of free community newspaper mastheads and digital news platforms operating across regional Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. The portfolio includes multiple local news brands (Surf Coast Times, Bellarine Times, McIvor Times, Ballarat Times, Geelong Times, Golden Plains Times, Bendigo Times, Mt Gambier Times, The Moorabool News, Byron Coast Times, Tweed Coast Times, Ballina Times, Lismore Times, Armstrong Creek Times) plus sports-focused digital platforms (Times Footy Scores, Times Footy Teams) and a production studio (TNG Studios). Each masthead operates as a local news outlet with sections covering News, Sport, Living, and Real Estate, available in both print and digital formats. The Times Footy platforms provide comprehensive coverage of regional Australian Rules football leagues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Surf Coast Times Free community newspaper covering the Surf Coast region of Victoria, Australia, available in print and as a digital edition online with News, Sport, Living, and Real Estate sections.
• Bellarine Times Free local news publication covering the Bellarine Peninsula region of Victoria, offering news, sport, living, and real estate content in print and digital editions.
• McIvor Times Free weekly community newspaper covering the Heathcote and district region in Victoria, with a 'My Bendigo Home' real estate liftout, available in print and as a full digital edition online.
• Ballarat Times

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Star News Group: Star News Group publishes a network of community and regional newspapers across the Mornington Peninsula, Bayside, and other Victorian regions. It shares the same free community newspaper, advertising-funded, multi-masthead model as Times News Group and competes for the same regional SMB advertisers.
• Leader Newspapers: Leader Newspapers publishes a portfolio of community newspapers across Melbourne suburbs and parts of regional Victoria with similar free-distribution, advertising-funded model — making it a closely comparable regional newspaper peer, particularly in the Victorian markets where both groups overlap.
• Australian Community Media (ACM): Australian Community Media, owned by Nine Entertainment, operates one of Australia's largest networks of regional and community newspapers across NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, and other states — directly competing with Times News Group in the same regional newspaper publishing category with similar free/subscription models and SMB advertiser focus.

Emerging players

• Cobalt NL: Cobalt Pacific Media is an emerging regional media group that has been building a portfolio of community and regional publications in Australia, including digital-first models. It represents a smaller, growth-stage peer in the same regional/community news category where Times News Group operates.

Regional players

• Prime Media Group: Prime Media operates regional television stations across Australia, competing for the same regional SMB advertising pool that Times News Group targets. While its delivery mechanism is broadcast rather than print, it is a comparable regional advertising competitor in the same geographies.
• WIN Corporation: WIN Corporation is a major regional television broadcaster across Australia and competes with Times News Group for the same regional advertising budgets, particularly in Victoria and northern NSW — the two states where TNG mastheads operate — though its primary product is broadcast TV rather than print/community news.

Broad incumbents

• Nine Entertainment Holdings: Nine Entertainment owns Australian Community Media, which operates regional newspapers that directly compete with Times News Group. While Nine is a broader media incumbent spanning broadcast, digital, and publishing, its ACM division is a head-to-head competitor in regional newspaper publishing.
• News Corp Australia: News Corp Australia is the country's largest newspaper publisher (The Australian, Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph) and operates regional/community titles across multiple states. It overlaps with Times News Group's regional newspaper segment but does not specialise in TNG's hyperlocal masthead cluster.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCiCOLTsJHsZMybCGdG_Oz-A
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/times-news-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries17 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 Times News Group