Programmatic ad bookings have grown by a third in Australia, where digital advertising accounted for a fifth of newsmedia's $2.3 billion advertising billings.

Annualised figured from the new News Media Index - based on major publishers' data - show print continuing to dominate the sector accounting for 80 per cent of total ad revenue. In addition, premium news media websites are growing at nine times the industry average for content sites (excluding programmatic), increasing revenue by 10.8 per cent in the calendar year to date.

"SMI's agency-only data shows it's been a tough third quarter for most media, with total ad spend back 0.2 per cent from the same period a year ago, with only Olympic-related media able to report above-average growth,'' SMI Australia and New Zealand managing director Jane Schulze says.

"Despite that, the news media publishers have continued to grow key parts of their businesses - such as the programmatic side - as they continue to evolve their product capabilities to compete against new digital players."

The News Media Index, which contains ad revenue data from publishers' financial systems, aims to address misconceptions by agency buyers, advertisers, investors and commentators about the true size of the sector.

NewsMediaWorks chief executive Mark Hollands says the newsmedia sector remains strong and resilient despite the challenging advertising and economic environment: "The revenue data also highlights the successful digital transformation of our publishers. The growth in programmatic and in particular our premium news sites, plus the continued strength of direct advertisers, proves the value of news media."

Revenue data is taken from NewsMediaWorks' foundation members, News Corp Australia, Fairfax Media, West Australian Newspapers and APN News & Media, which represent approximately 90 per cent of the news media sector. SMI extracts the information directly from publisher financial systems.