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February 23, 2017

ABCs: Regional press website growth offsets print decline as Manchester Evening News beats Standard

By Dominic Ponsford

Nearly every regional newspaper website audited by ABC recorded strong growth in the second half of 2016.

The Manchester Evening News is the most popular regional press website, bigger even that the London Evening Standard, with an average of 652,881 unique browsers per day.

After the Standard, Trinity Mirror sites occupy the next four spots in the traffic rankings: the Liverpool Echo, Wales Online, Birmingham Mail and Newcastle’s Chronicle Live.

The fastest-growing site was Johnston Press’s News Letter in Belfast, up 67 per cent year on year to 20,336 unique browsers per day, followed by Newsquest’s Evening Times in Glasgow, up 49 per cent year on year to an average of 75,302 unique browsers per day.

The online audience growth contrasts with sharp declines in print sales, particularly for the regional dailies – which fell by an average of 12.5 per cent year on year in the second half of 2016.

Regional press website traffic for the second half of 2016

(Average daily unique browsers, source ABC)

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Title Owner Total average unique daily visitors YoY%
Manchester Evening News Trinity Mirror plc 652,881 17
Evening Standard Evening Standard Limited 544,339 23.6
Liverpool Echo Trinity Mirror plc 456,622 8.1
Wales Online Trinity Mirror plc 292,824 13.1
Birmingham Mail Trinity Mirror plc 277,760 41.1
Chronicle Live Trinity Mirror plc 213,447 4.9
Kent Online (KM Group) network Kent Messenger Ltd 140,014 20
Hull Daily Mail (Web) Trinity Mirror plc 104,163
GazetteLive Trinity Mirror plc 103,268 1.9
Scotsman.com Johnston Press plc 97,200 2.4
Bristol Post (Web) Trinity Mirror plc 93,953
Nottingham Post (Web) Trinity Mirror plc 92,122
heraldscotland.com Newsquest Media Group 88,418 10.8
bournemouthecho.co.uk Newsquest Media Group 81,595
Daily Post (Wales) Trinity Mirror plc 81,125 5.1
Plymouth Herald (Web) Trinity Mirror plc 80,255
Stoke Sentinel Trinity Mirror plc 79,480
Thestar.co.uk Johnston Press plc 78,577 14.6
eveningtimes.co.uk Newsquest Media Group 75,302 48.8
dailyecho.co.uk Newsquest Media Group 73,600 1.2
thetelegraphandargus.co.uk Newsquest Media Group 72,459 4.5
Yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk Johnston Press plc 71,708 -5.5
Derby Telegraph (Web) Trinity Mirror plc 71,090
Eastern Daily Press Archant Ltd 67,054 9.4
Coventry Telegraph Trinity Mirror plc 66,321 18.3
Leicester Mercury (Web) Trinity Mirror plc 60,760
thenorthernecho.co.uk Newsquest Media Group 60,697 3.5
edinburghnews.scotsman.com Johnston Press plc 60,316 10.3
theboltonnews.co.uk Newsquest Media Group 57,508 12.2
Sunderlandecho.com Johnston Press plc 55,874 12.8
thepress.co.uk Newsquest Media Group 54,025 16.9
Get Surrey Trinity Mirror plc 52,395
South Wales Evening Post (Web) Trinity Mirror plc 51,222
lancashiretelegraph.co.uk Newsquest Media Group 51,204 -0.2
theargus.co.uk Newsquest Media Group 50,530 -5.4
Huddersfield Daily Examiner Trinity Mirror plc 50,459 -4.4
Portsmouth.co.uk Johnston Press plc 47,451 9.8
Get Reading Trinity Mirror plc 44,518
Cambridge News (Web) Trinity Mirror plc 42,323
Oxfordmail.co.uk Newsquest Media Group 41,933 38.8
southwalesargus.co.uk Newsquest Media Group 40,662
Grimsby Telegraph (Web) Trinity Mirror plc 38,408
newsshopper.co.uk Newsquest Media Group 35,242 -4.5
Swindonadvertiser.co.uk Newsquest Media Group 34,785 12.5
Blackpoolgazette.co.uk Johnston Press plc 33,049 -4.6
LEP.co.uk Johnston Press plc 32,944 -3.5
Yorkshirepost.co.uk Johnston Press plc 32,248 2.6
www.newsandstar.co.uk CN Group 30,048
Peterboroughtoday.co.uk Johnston Press plc 29,675 32.4
northamptonchronicle.co.uk Johnston Press plc 28,406 -9.7
East Anglian Daily Times Archant Ltd 26,044 21
worcesternews.co.uk Newsquest Media Group 25,403
wigantoday.net Johnston Press plc 24,707 13.6
shieldsgazette.com Johnston Press plc 24,492 -1.1
dorsetecho.co.uk Newsquest Media Group 24,289
Ipswich Star Archant Ltd 23,813 17.7
newsletter.co.uk Johnston Press plc 20,336 67
www.nwemail.co.uk CN Group 19,887
hartlepoolmail.co.uk Johnston Press plc 16,910 -19
Norwich Evening News Archant Ltd 14,907 -4.2
www.jobstoday.co.uk Johnston Press plc 14,489 -41.9
Wow247 Johnston Press plc 13,469 -51.6
Visiter.co.uk Trinity Mirror plc 12,885 0.9
Comet Archant Ltd 11,709 14.1
Romford Recorder Archant Ltd 10,387 15.3
Great Yarmouth Mercury Archant Ltd 8,875 27.9
Brent and Kilburn Times Archant Ltd 8,235 1.5
Barking & Dagenham Post Archant Ltd 7,872 19.9
Welwyn Hatfield Times Archant Ltd 7,700 13.6
Ham and High Express Archant Ltd 5,913 7.8
Newham Recorder Archant Ltd 5,711 26.8
Ilford Recorder Archant Ltd 5,696 7.4
The Herts Advertiser Archant Ltd 5,307 -7
Hunts Post Archant Ltd 4,659 9.8
Hackney Gazette Archant Ltd 4,588 37.5
Lowestoft Journal Archant Ltd 4,425 1.1
Islington Gazette Archant Ltd 4,373 -0.6
Kent on Sunday Archant Ltd 3,685 12.6
Cambs Times Archant Ltd 3,128 4.8
Docklands & East London Advertiser Archant Ltd 2,954 26.3
www.timesandstar.co.uk CN Group 2,953
www.whitehavennews.co.uk CN Group 2,566
Wisbech Standard Archant Ltd 2,443 -16.2
www.hexhamcourant.co.uk CN Group 2,432
North Norfolk News Archant Ltd 2,412 14.9
www.in-cumbria.com CN Group 883
www.cumberlandnews.co.uk CN Group 874
The Reporter Archant Ltd 840 -43.7
www.cumbrialive.co.uk CN Group 632
www.inthebay.co.uk CN Group 495

 

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